Worcester festival shooting update: Calls for action on gun violence, but no arrests
WORCESTER — City officials and social activist groups are still reeling from the gun violence that turned a well-attended and well-run festival into a chaotic crime scene early Sunday evening, with two people described as "innocent bystanders" hit by stray bullets.
Around 6 p.m. Sunday, gunfire erupted between two men on Boynton Street, at Salisbury Street. The ringing shots caused a chaotic scene in and around the Worcester Caribbean American Carnival with people running for cover, according to police.
As a result, police shut down the carnival about a half-hour early. Two shooting victims, ages 15 and 23, were identified near Institute Park.
Tuesday, Worcester police Lt. Sean Murtha said there had been no arrests made yet in connection with the double shooting, which happened near a Worcester Polytechnic Institute fraternity house. He said the investigation remains active.
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The two victims were not connected with the dispute that resulted in gunfire erupting, Murtha said. They suffered non-life-threatening injuries, he said, and both are expected to make a full recovery.
“People fire their gun in a crowded city, especially at an event that has thousands of people here, occasionally they strike things they don’t mean to,” Murtha said Sunday night. “And, unfortunately, two people not involved got shot.”
'No place for violence'
In a statement Tuesday, City Manager Eric D. Batista said what happened Sunday is a “disgrace.”
“There is no place for violence of any kind in our community. Worcester is a city where everyone should feel secure, respected and be able to live a life free from violence,” Batista said. “My thoughts and concerns are with the victims and their families and everyone who had to stand witness to such senseless violence.”
Batista said the city supports cultural and ethnic diversity, and pledged that the Worcester Caribbean American Carnival will continue to be celebrated in the city.
“Worcester has a history of creating safe spaces for people to celebrate their cultural traditions and that will not change,” Batista said. “Right now, we must focus on helping all those who experienced trauma Sunday heal.”
Batista said the city, through its Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, as well as the Governance Council for Children, Youth and Families, is working on prevention and intervention of youth violence.
City Councilor-at-Large Kathleen M. Toomey, who also chairs the council’s public safety committee, called Sunday’s double shooting a “tragic incident” that shouldn’t tarnish the festival.
“It was a random incident and, I think, people have to remember that, that it really wasn’t connected to that event. We have to take a step back and remember in an urban center we're going to have issues like that,” Toomey said. “We’re going to do everything we can to try to prevent it in the future. We have to continue to be vigilant. We have to continue our efforts and identifying these individuals that are carrying illegal weapons.
“The violence is getting out of hand,” she continued. “We continue to try to make sure we get guns off the street. And, I have to say our police department is doing a very good job, but illegal guns are prolific and people are getting them. We can have the strictest gun laws in the country, which Massachusetts does, but it’s not stemming illegal guns.”
Reaction from NAACP, Lawyers for Civil Rights
In a statement released Monday, Fred Taylor, president of the Worcester branch of the NAACP, said Worcester needs to address that there is a gun problem in the city and work to solve it.
“Yesterday (Sunday) was supposed to be a celebration of Caribbean culture with food and fun, but instead, it abruptly ended our summers and traumatized our youth and families,” Taylor said. “While speaking with an NAACP member and his daughter we were interrupted by gun fire just 50 feet away. Why do we, why does our community, always need to duck and dodge gunfire? This senseless violence, which led to two youth being shot, put the lives of all of us attending in danger. By the grace of God, no one was killed yesterday (Sunday). We are all lucky.”
Tuesday, the Boston-based Lawyers For Civil Rights sent out letters to the mayors of Worcester, Boston and Springfield urging them to prioritize public safety issues in the wake of back-to-back shootings over the weekend at Caribbean cultural festivals in Worcester and Boston.
The organization urged Worcester Mayor Joseph M. Petty and the Worcester Police Department to “redouble community trust-building efforts to stem the tide of gun violence.
“The consequences of this bloodshed are impossible to overstate,” the letter states. “People are being hurt, families are being destroyed, and Worcester residents are being forced to live in fear. That’s why it’s more important than ever for elected officials and law enforcement personnel to do all they can to build trust between police and the people they serve, especially the communities of color disproportionately harmed by gun violence.”
The police department is asking anyone with information about Sunday’s double shooting to send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD or call the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at (508) 799-8651.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Calls for action follow Worcester Caribbean festival shooting
