Relatives mourn Brockton girl, 16

"Who would do this?" Ariana Santos screamed out, pawing at the dirt. "I just want her close to me. I just want to see her." Nearby, her mother watched, tears streaming down her face.

This was the scene on Addison Avenue last night, where State Police detectives interviewed people while somber family members watched Santos weep. Through the day, neighbors said, many teenagers walked up and down the street, leaving flowers and candles where 16-year-old Chantal Matiyosus was shot and killed.

"It's sickening, sad," said one neighbor, who did not want to give her name, out of respect for the family.

Matiyosus was at her relative's home on Addison Avenue Saturday night celebrating a cousin's baby shower when she walked outside about 11 p.m. with Santos and Peter Johnson, a 15-year-old friend. Matiyosus, who lived nearby, was about to walk home.

As they stood outside, she was shot and killed by assailants who police believe had walked up the street to the house and, according to neighbors, fired about a dozen shots. Santos was hit in the hand, and Johnson was hit in the shin. The shooters then ran away before anyone knew what was happening.

Dozens of other teenagers were on the front lawn and Matiyosus's other relatives were inside. They ran to Matiyosus's aid. The 16-year-old, shot in the face and in the side, was rushed to Brockton Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police said the shooting remains under investigation. No arrests have been made, and it was not known whether Matiyosus was targeted.

Family members said the teenager had been singled out by gang members before and that her mother did everything she could to protect her child.

"She was the most beautiful person you could think of," her aunt, Dina Calderon, said last night.

Her mother, Stephanie Matiyosus, was not available for comment last night, but told the Enterprise newspaper of Brockton that Chantal had dropped out of Brockton High School because of trouble with gangs and that other girls started fights with her regularly.

"I was very fearful for her safety," her mother told the newspaper.

She said her daughter had enrolled at Stoughton Academy's evening high school program and was accepted into Massasoit Community College's Gateway to College program.

The teenager had a lot of friends, enjoyed movies and music, and loved her two dogs, her aunt said yesterday.

"She put a smile on everyone's face," Ariana Santos said last night, wearing bandages on her hand to cover her wound from the shooting.