Reason for alarm now?
A brawl between Charlestown High School students and residents of a local housing project apparently resulted in a shooting aimed at some other students.
Reports the Boston Globe:
“I believe it is common knowledge that there is Blood activity in the projects around the school,” said Michael Contompasis, the interim school superintendent. “That’s what the police are focusing on.”
I did not know that, but Boston Police has been on top of it since at least December of last year, Kathleen O’Toole style, according to the Charlestown Bridge:
Reports indicate that the Bloods street gang now has a presence in Charlestown, although there isn’t reason for alarm yet, according to Captain Bernie O’Rourke of Boston Police.
“We want to stay on top of it, so it doesn’t expand,” Captain O’Rourke said at a meeting of the Charlestown Neighborhood Council Public Safety Committee last Tuesday. He added that this phenomenon was “relatively new in Charlestown” and “still in the fledgling stages.”
According to police, one incident involving suspected gang members occurred on Dec. 1, sending a Charlestown man to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of a puncture wound. On that date, officers responded to 18 Carney Court after receiving a report of an assault and battery in progress. The victim reported that four suspects — three teenage black males and one teenage black female — approached him in the vicinity of Medford and Polk streets. The suspects proceeded to forcibly remove the victim’s jacket and go through his pockets, and one suspect allegedly stabbed the victim. The victim said two suspects were wearing red “hoodies.” (Red clothing is a signature of the Bloods street gang).
O’Rourke said there had been other incidents at Charlestown High School, the Clarence R. Edwards Middle School and in Charlestown’s housing developments that involve suspected gang members, roughly 15 to 18 years old, targeting slightly younger victims for cell phones, clothing and small amounts of money.
…
Ed Grace, chairman of CNC Public Safety Committee, believes that despite these recent incidents, residents shouldn’t be overly concerned about street gangs in Charlestown.
“It’s not like other parts of the city or Somerville with the MS-13s,” he said.
Here’s a discussion amongst townies about the shooting (via Universal Hub).
