"Residents shaken after man shot, killed in Hyde Park" by Laura Crimaldi Globe Staff September 30, 2015
A man in his 20s was shot to death in the parking lot of a Hyde Park apartment building Wednesday, upsetting residents who were shaken by the sound of gunfire and stunned to see the victim’s body lying outside their homes for several hours.
The shooting took place about 4 a.m. in the rear of a Huntington Avenue building located at the intersection of River Street, police said.
Investigators believe the victim was targeted and have preliminary information suggesting that the attack may be gang-related, said Officer Jamie Kenneally, a Boston police spokesman. The man, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, was known to police, he said.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and as police investigated, his body remained in the parking lot for the next several hours, covered with a blanket. Police installed a pop-up canopy later Wednesday morning to protect the scene from heavy rains.
The killing was the fifth homicide in September and pushed the number of homicides recorded so far this year by Boston police to 26, Kenneally said. At the same time last year, there had been 42 homicides, he said.
Some residents of the brick apartment building said they were awakened by the predawn gunfire.
Mary Smith, 69, said her son told her he saw a body in the parking lot behind the building as he was getting ready to leave for work. “I’m looking out the window seeing a body,” Smith said. “I see this person lying on the ground by the truck.”
Other residents of Smith’s building said they saw the victim’s legs sticking out from underneath a blue Dodge Ram truck. The man was dressed in khaki pants, Nike sneakers, and a white shirt, said Barbara Torres, 24, who lives near Smith.
She said officers examined wounds to the man’s chest and put down evidence markers in different locations.
Barbara Torres and her husband, Vinny, said they did not recognize the victim.
“We didn’t hear any arguing. We didn’t hear a commotion before the shooting,” she said.
Vinny Torres, 27, said he was disturbed by the violence.
“I never pictured something like that happening around here,” he said. “I actually was in shock.”
Another resident said the victim was lying on the ground and covered by a tarp just outside his bedroom window.
He said investigators came to his door and asked questions.
“I’m a little upset,” said the resident, who only gave his name as William. “I’m new to the neighborhood. This is not what I signed on for.”
Mary Ann Guiviba, 61, said she was awakened by what she thought were firecrackers.
The bedroom window of her basement apartment looks out onto the parking lot where the victim was found.
She said she saw police officers and yellow crime tape around the building.
“It’s dangerous for me where I sleep,” Guiviba said.
Another resident who declined to give her name said she heard four gunshots and called 911. She said security cameras were recently installed on the outside of the building and are pointed at a Dumpster in the parking lot. She said she hopes investigators can use cameras to solve the crime.
“It was scary,” she said. “I don’t need a gunshot alarm clock in my life. It’s time to go.”
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