DORCHESTER, Mass. — Dozens came together on Olney Street Sunday night for a vigil honoring the life of a 73-year-old grandmother who was shot and killed on her porch.
Boston Police identified the woman as Delois Brown and said she was not an intended target of Saturday’s gunfire. Family members gathered on the porch where she was shot as activists spoke about the need to put an end to gun violence.
“It should be unacceptable for anybody in our community to be able to just drive or walk down our street and shoot and kill anyone,” one activist said.
“This stuff’s got to stop. Really, it’s got to stop,” said Kimberly Shuler, who identified herself as a friend of Brown.
Those in attendance lit candles and said prayers. Calls for justice reverberated through a megaphone.
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“The God in which I believe is a God of justice, a God of redemption, a God that does not allow Ms. Brown’s death to go in vain. There has to be justice,” one pastor said.
A moment of silence was held at 5:55 p.m., around the time Boston Police first received notice that Brown had been shot.
Kevin Peterson, a local reverend, called on local officials to do more to end neighborhood violence.
“I call on our new mayor, with all due respect, we need a plan around public safety that addresses the issue of racial inequity with regard to violence,” he said.
As of Sunday night, no arrests had been made. Boston Police released the following information:
The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and is asking anyone with information relative to this investigation to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470.
Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to assist this investigation in an anonymous manner.