Slain man called good brother, neighbor

Neighbors called Rodd Hunt ''Big Man" because he looked out for his family and friends. A cousin called him ''the mad scientist" because he had high marks in school and was always thinking up ways to get ahead.

Yesterday, Boston police identified the 26-year-old Hunt as the city's 75th homicide victim of this year. He was shot to death Wednesday night on Lenox Street in front of his grandmother's apartment, and two brothers and a fourth man suffered gunshot wounds that police said were not life-threatening.

No arrests had been made by last night, and police have disclosed few details about the shootings.

Police would not identify the other three victims because they are witnesses to a homicide, said Officer John Boyle, a department spokesman. Residents and family members said two of the wounded were Hunt's younger brothers, Deon and Jamaine Hunt, who lived with their grandmother, Pauline Hoge.

The shooting scene, while geographically in Roxbury according to city maps, is in the police department district that covers the South End.

Neighbors, who say the area is riddled with gangs and the sounds of gunshots, were in disbelief. The Hunt brothers were the good guys, many said. Rodd was working at a local Winston Flowers, Jamaine had just been accepted to technical school, and Deon is expecting his first child, neighbors said.

''They didn't bother nobody," said Anita Borden, who has lived in the area for 40 years and has watched the boys grow up. ''They lived right there with their grandmother. They were always together. They weren't involved in any gangs, drugs, or anything like that. And Rodd would do anything for anybody. It's always the peacemaker who gets killed."

None of the Hunt brothers have been charged with any serious crimes, according to a law enforcement official who reviewed the criminal histories and spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns.

Keith Parker, who coached Rodd Hunt in 1997 on the English High School football team, easily recalled Hunt, who only played his senior year.

''He was a defensive tackle on a very good defense," Parker said in a telephone interview yesterday. ''The biggest thing I remember about Rodd is that he picked up a fumble against East Boston and ran it back 65 yards for a touchdown."

That was the difference in the game, a 16-8 win over East Boston, Parker said.

''He was a great kid and gave all he could to English High football community during the 1997 season," the coach said. ''Obviously, it's a tragedy."

The Hunt brothers were very close, according to neighbors. They were often found playing with the young kids on the block, sitting on the stoop of their grandmother's apartment, or visiting friends who lived a few apartments down.

Family and friends poured into Hoge's apartment yesterday afternoon with food, gifts, and condolences.

''I just can't take no more. . . . I just hope they catch whoever did this," Hoge said in an interview with CBS4-TV. She said she had been asleep during the shooting and didn't hear a thing.

Hoge described Hunt as a ''sweet person" and said she hopes the shooter ''gets what he deserves. . . . He don't have no right to go around taking anyone's life."

The episode marked the second quadruple shooting this month in Boston, where the homicide count is at a 10-year high and where shootings resulting in death and injury were up 30 percent this year through last week, compared to the same period last year. Police are still trying to solve the Dec. 13 shooting of four young men who were found dead in a Dorchester basement recording studio.

This time, three of the victims survived the attack.

Moments before the shooting, said Enrique Rosa, he saw the Hunt brothers walking down the street, and everything seemed normal.

''I was putting on my coat, getting ready to go to the store, when I heard the bullets," said Rosa, 50.

''I screamed and told my kids: 'Fall on the floor! Fall on the floor!' " said another neighbor, a 29-year old mother of two who asked not to be named because she fears for her children's safety. ''It happened right in front of my house. It's not right."

Within minutes, police cruisers were on the scene, and Rosa came out of his apartment to see what was going on. Rodd Hunt, Rosa said, was lying on the ground, and his brother Deon was bent over him and screaming for help.

''Jamaine was running down the street," said Rosa. ''I think he was also screaming for help. There was blood all over. It was real bad. You could see that Rodd was having a hard time breathing. He was shot more than once."

John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.