During a Boston Police staffing ceremony, Commissioner William Evans and Mayor Martin Walsh took the opportunity to speak on the deadly rise in violence the city has seen in the short start to the new year, according to a statement from police.
January had nine homicides with another two so far this month. Many of the killings appear to be gang-related, including a string of four fatal shootings in the end of January, according to police.
The recent spike in violence includes Friday’s alleged accidental shooting of Jan Marcos Peña. His 14-year-old unidentified brother is accused of killing the 9-year-old Mattapan resident when he was “recklessly” handling a firearm that struck his brother in their apartment, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office said in a statement.
“We’ve made progress in important areas, but everyone knows that we can’t let up, especially in the communities that are hardest hit by violence,” Walsh said at the ceremony, the Globe reported. “We’ve seen recently how violence can escalate, and how destructive and tragic illegal guns can be. We have to get these illegal guns off the street.”
The eldest brother was arraigned Monday and ordered held on a $50,000 bail. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of an illegal firearm.
