A teenage boy has died from his injuries after being shot Wednesday evening near a playground in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, authorities said.
Officers responded just before 7:30 p.m. to a shooting on Ellington Street, the Boston Police Department said.
The victim was found with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities.
"Any time there is any incident of gun violence in our community, it is absolutely unacceptable, and when we see the loss of life, and particularly a young child, we are all robbed of the potential, the life that was ahead of this young person," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press conference Wednesday night. "I am deeply devastated and here with community members to say we need to get guns off of our streets."
Wu added that the city has neighborhood trauma teams on site and will continue to provide resources for community members.
"I was in my restroom and I heard, 'Boom, boom, boom,' and then my daughter came out and said, 'Mommy, someone got shot,'" said a neighbor, who did not want to reveal her name. "When I came out, I see the police with all the tape, all the cruisers, pulling up, and then [I] grabbed some clothes and came outside, and that's when I see from my porch, I see them doing chest compression on the boy."
Investigators could be seen canvassing the area for stray bullets that may have struck the homes down Ellington Street.
"I've probably been to over 100 of these types of scenes over the course of my career, and they never get any easier, and they really strike home and strike home hard when someone as young as this loses their life, tragically, to gun violence," Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
The victim's age was not given, but Hayden referred to him as "a young teenager."
The incident serves as another example of the continued gun violence in Boston neighborhoods.
"It's sad, because it's like, this playground is meant for the kids, but all the gun violence, it's kind of hard to bring the kids out here and be scared that they might get shot or bullets flying," the neighbor said. "Bullets don't have names, so you never know."
Authorities ask anyone with information to call the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470, or call 1-800-494-TIPS to leave a tip anonymously.
"We need a community response," Hayden said. "If you know of any information or have any information with regards to this case, we beg and plead and yearn that you contact police to let them know what information you know."
