'South Shore Plaza needs to step up and step up big': Braintree mayor seeks increased security
BRAINTREE – Mayor Charles Kokoros said he will press for more police officers and security cameras at the South Shore Plaza in the wake of Saturday's fatal shooting.
Kokoros and Police Chief Mark Dubois are scheduled to meet with officials of the mall and its parent company, Simon Property Group, this week to discuss increased security after three shootings over the past five years.
The mayor has called the shootings at the mall "unacceptable" and said he wants to put together a plan to protect mall patrons, employees and the public safety personnel that respond to the incidents.
"Enough is enough," Kokoros said in an interview. "South Shore Plaza needs to step up and step up big."
Among the measures Kokoros said he and the police chief will ask for are "increased cameras on the premises, increased police on the property and other security measures."
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The mall already pays for two police officers and a supervisor to patrol the mall during operating hours, and there is a police substation located off the mall's food court.
Kokoros said he has reached out to local mall management as well as to officials of Indianapolis-based Simon, the nation's largest owner of shopping malls.
"They are very willing to participate in a discussion," Kokoros said.
Dijoun C. Bradley, 26, of Dorchester, was shot midafternoon Saturday near the Forever 21 store at the mall. The shooting caused shoppers and employees to scramble for safety and a massive police response. He was taken to Boston Medical Center and the Norfolk District Attorney's office announced his death on Monday.
Authorities believe Bradley was targeted by the shooter, who immediately left the mall.
State Police detectives attached to the Norfolk District Attorney's office and Braintree Police are conducting an active and ongoing investigation into the shooting.
There were also shootings at the South Shore Plaza in 2020 and 2017.
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Previous South Shore Plaza shootings
Earlier this month 22-year-old Jose Rodriguez admitted to shooting a 15-year-old girl at the mall in 2020. Rodriguez admitted to charges of armed assault to murder, possession of a large-capacity firearm and numerous other firearms charges in Norfolk Superior Court, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement
The shooting took place about 4:43 p.m. July 3, 2020, in the Nordstrom wing of the mall and began as an altercation between two groups, authorities said. A 15-year-old girl standing nearby was shot in the hand and chest.
Rodriguez fled the mall on foot, but was tracked by a police K-9 team and arrested on Granite Street a short distance from the mall. The gun was recovered in a parking garage, police said.
In February 2017, shooting erupted when two members of rival Boston gangs encountered each other in the shoe department of Macy's. No one was injured, and a suspect was arrested several hours later in Quincy.
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The man charged with the shooting, Michael J. Spence, of Quincy, pleaded guilty in September 2019 and was sentenced to five to six years at MCI-Cedar Junction and followed by three years of probation after that.
After the incident, the mall stepped up security, including installing an automated phone system to notify all of its 200 stores in the event of an emergency.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'South Shore Plaza needs to step up': Mayor wants more mall security
