Shooting victim's parents appeal for peace
In their first public comments since their daughter was fatally shot leaving a house party in Dorchester, Chiara Levin's parents expressed deep pain at their loss and gratitude toward Boston police for comforting them and aggressively pursuing the killer.
Levin's parents, Bill and Grazia, said in a statement yesterday that they are working with police in the investigation of the shooting outside 415 Geneva Ave.
"We know that Chiara stood for peace," the Levins said in their statement. "We can only hope that others will learn from this terrible event. There is too much violence in our society, and we urge everyone to look for ways to eliminate these senseless acts of crime."
Levin, 22, had been working in New York City and was in Boston to celebrate a great aunt's birthday. She went out Friday with two male friends, police have said.
After spending much of the night at a downtown Boston restaurant, the trio was invited to the party on Geneva Avenue by three men, who drove them to Dorchester in a Cadillac Escalade about 2:15 a.m. Saturday, police said.
The men offered a ride again when the trio decided to leave the party after about an hour. As they prepared to leave, gunfire erupted, and Levin, who was in the Cadillac, was struck in the head. After dropping off two of the Boston men, one of whom had been grazed by the gunfire, the vehicle continued to Boston Medical Center, where Levin was pronounced dead just before 6 a.m.
Her death and the search for her killer was the top story on the America's Most Wanted website last night. Police have urged anyone at the party to come forward.
Levin, who was her class valedictorian at Danville High School in Kentucky, had graduated with honors from the University of Michigan last April.
A funeral is planned Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church in Danville, Ky. 