18-year-old is shot, killed in Roxbury
An 18-year-old from Boston was shot and killed on a Roxbury street early yesterday while waiting outside for a friend, police and a neighbor said.
The teenager, whose name was not released pending notification of his family, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting, just after 11:30 a.m. on Homestead Street, police said.
Last evening, a makeshift memorial was all that remained at the scene, with candles, a teddy bear, and empty liquor bottles marking the site.
"It's just crazy," said a neighbor, an 18-year-old who asked that his name not be used so he does not bring attention to himself.
The neighbor said shootings have occurred, but the shooting yesterday was so brazen it rattled nerves. "It's scary," he said. "I just came outside, and he was slumped there, by that bush."
According to the neighbor and police, the man who was shot was waiting for a friend who went inside his home to get something. The friend told police he heard about four shots and came outside to see his friend on the ground bleeding.
The neighbor said he has seen the victim in the neighborhood before, and though he did not know him well, "he was a cool guy, a nice guy."
According to police numbers, the killing was the 16th in the city this year, compared with 19 at this time last year. Of the 16, 14 have been shootings.
Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com. 