Teen killed at YMCA dance
Dorchester event planned as safe
As teens trickled out of a dance designed to keep them off the street and away from violence late Saturday, a 19-year-old was found fatally shot inside Dorchester’s YMCA, officials said.
The weekly summer event drew several hundred teens, all of whom had been frisked and had their bags searched before entering the dance, said Kelley Rice, spokeswoman for the YMCA of Greater Boston.
Relatives gathered last evening identified the victim as Aaron Brown of Roxbury, who had attended the dance at the YMCA on Washington Street. Relatives said he was killed when someone shot into the crowded gym as the dance was winding down.
While the teen was found in the building about 11:30 p.m., police said they did not know whether he was shot inside or outside the YMCA.
The shooting may have followed a fight, police said. They did not say whether partygoers witnessed the shooting, or where the victim was found in relation to other youths in the building. He was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center.
This is the first shooting at one of Boston’s nine YMCAs that Rice and police could recall.
“It’s not the place you expect to see something [like] an incident of this nature happen,’’ said Officer James Kenneally. “But given the large crowd, we’re hoping that people will be more apt to come forward, given the mission of that organization.’’
The shooting victim appeared to have been targeted, police said. He was not a member of the YMCA, Rice said.
YMCA workers do not check identification at the door of events like the one Saturday night because ma ny participants - usually between ages 16 and 18 - may not have driver’s licenses, Rice said.
Rice said the YMCA has released security tapes from several cameras to Boston police, who continue to investigate.
Grief counselors will be on hand to help staff members and teens who were at the YMCA when the shooting occurred, Rice said.
Rice called Brown’s death a tragic event. “We’re heartbroken. Our thoughts are with this young man’s family and friends.’’
The Dorchester YMCA has canceled all scheduled events until Boston police clear them to continue.
Rice had no word whether security policies would change. “Today we’re dealing with the human loss,’’ she said.
Still, she said, it is important for a community like Dorchester to continue to offer teens and children a place to feel safe off the streets.
Last evening, dozens of Brown’s family and friends placed candles, pink roses, and stuffed animals in a makeshift memorial in front of the Y. Family members cried, and friends wondered how someone was able to get a gun into the event.
“How do you get hurt at a structured party?’’ family friend Shy Tillman said. “That’s what the community needs to know.’’
Her 14- and 16-year-old children are still shaken up, said Tillman, who lives near the Y. “Nobody really feels safe,’’ she said. “It’s messed up, that these kids don’t feel safe.’’
Brown spent time in detention centers as a youth and was released from jail about three weeks ago. His mother said she did not know the charges.
His family described him as a big kid in a young man’s body.
A pastor who lost a nephew to street violence said his thoughts and prayers are with Brown’s family. “It’s very disconcerting to say the least at a Y because the Y is usually known as a safe haven,’’ said Rev. William Dickerson, pastor at the nearby Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester.