On Wednesday night, at approximately 9:53pm, according to reports, Boston police officers assigned to the Youth Violence Strike Force were patrolling an area near Lyford and Oakhurst Streets, not far from the border between Dorchester and Mattapan, when several shots were heard. Police then saw several males chasing a single male, hopped out of their cruisers, and ordered the minors to stop. Only the one who looked like he was being chased obeyed. He then explained that the pack he was fleeing had shot at him.
Police soon found a male trying to hide by lying in the backyard of a nearby house. The suspect had several rounds of ammunition in his pocket and a gun consistent with that ammunition was found close by. Several spent rounds were also discovered. The young male was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling. While being taken away the sixteen year old allegedly asked how much time he was going to get.
Boston’s Youth Violence Strike Force is a member of the Boston Police Department’s Special Operation’s Division. As a multi-agency task force, it is comprised of up to 50 full time Boston Police officers and up to 15 members of various outside agencies. These other organizations include the Massachusetts State Police; the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; police departments of neighboring jurisdictions, Massachusetts Corrections, Probation, and Parole; the Department of Youth Services, and a few other associations.
With the recent mass shootings throughout the country this past summer, such as in Colorado, and New York, and Wisconsin there has been more talk in the media lately about gun control. The Boston Globe posted an article just last week about people wishing to hear more about the issue from our leading presidential candidates. But Boston’s Youth Violence Strike Force has been hailed as one of the effective programs for curbing gun and youth violence within cities. It’s a conglomerate that harkens back to the Boston Miracle of the mid-90s.
If you or anyone close to have any concerns, questions, or need for counsel in regards to criminal law please feel free to contact Altman and Altman at your earliest convenience.
Sources:
http://www.sasnet.com/bostonstrategy/programs/16_YVStrikeForce.html