Davis tries to reassure residents after shootings

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said this afternoon that a spate of shootings in Dorchester Monday night that left four men injured was the result of ongoing feud between two neighborhood gangs.

The attacks in Dorchester capped a violent day in Boston that included the non-fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in the South End and the slaying of a 20-year-old man in Jamaica Plain.

"The incidents that occurred in the last 24 hours are troubling," said Davis, who spoke to reporters outside a luncheon at the Boston Wharf Hotel.

The city has seen a 40 percent drop in non-fatal shootings compared with last year, Davis said, which is a good overall trend.

"We have to stay out there in the street," Davis said. "We have to push forward with our initiatives to make sure that this city is the safest city in America. That's our goal."

The violence Monday started early in the morning when the 13-year-old boy was shot on Washington Street a few feet away from his home. Later in the afternoon, 20-year-old Luis Troncoso, a father of two infant girls, was fatally shot in the head at Southwest Corridor Park in Jamaica Plain.

State Police are investigating Troncoso's killing because the park is state property, but Davis said he was well-known to police. He declined to say more about Troncoso because State Police are the main investigators. Troncoso's shooting was not random and police believe it was gang-related, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation.

The 13-year-old boy, whose name is not being published by the Globe because he is a witness, is believed to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time, said two law enforcement sources. When he was shot, the boy was talking to people believed to be involved in an ongoing gang feud with another group in the South End, the two sources said.

When Davis spoke to reporters this afternoon, he stood with Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, a former Boston police commissioner. The luncheon was for local students who earned scholarships from Operation Progress, a fund started by Los Angeles police officers, and the Police Athletic League.

Two dozen Los Angeles police officers came to Boston over the weekend to participate in Monday's marathon for a friendly competition with 25 Boston police officers. Los Angeles won by one minute.

Davis said the department has emulated many of Los Angeles law enforcement tactics to reduce crime. Davis and other command staff officials will walk through Jamaica Plain this afternoon to speak with business owners and residents about the effectiveness of teams of police officers who have been patrolling the neighborhood.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email