Just two months after confiding his reluctance to join a gang and the fear of his decision’s fallout, 16-year-old Jonathan Dos Santos was ambushed and shot to death Wednesday night while riding his bike in Dorchester, according to the Boston Police Department and the Boston Globe.
Jonathan Dos Santos
Police said the shooters are in their late teens or early 20s and both were wearing green hooded sweatshirts on the night of the shooting.
The Globe had further details, saying one suspect’s sweatshirt had white strings with a white shirt underneath. He was also wearing blue jeans and sneakers with yellow soles while the second suspect was wearing light-colored cargo pants and a baseball cap that featured cursive writing, a white visor, and a thick white letter on the cap’s back.
“Everyone should be outraged when a 16-year-old on his bike gets shot,” Police Commissioner William Evans said in a statement.
The Globe detailed how Dos Santos, a McKinley Preparatory High School student, tried to escape the violence of his surroundings.
Jonathan Dos Santos’s family moved into the three-decker on Fuller Street with hope that it would be safer than their old neighborhood. The 16-year-old decorated his room with mementos he was proud of: his certificate of graduation from fifth grade, a Boston neighborhood soccer league plaque, football trophies, a silver and blue 5K medal on a bright yellow ribbon.
But about two months ago, the teenager came to his basketball coach with a problem: People were hassling him, trying to get him to join a gang, the youth had said. He didn’t want to. But he was scared to go to school because he was afraid they would be looking for him at the train station.
On Wednesday night, two young men waited with guns drawn for Dos Santos to come riding his bicycle down Fuller Street in Dorchester, according to an official briefed on the investigation. When the teenager pedaled past, they opened fire, killing him.
“This was an ambush,” said the law enforcement official.
Dos Santos’ uncle described how his nephew died in his arms. A witness told the Globe what he saw unfold:
One resident, a 52-year-old man who stepped out onto his porch to have a cigarette, said he saw two people chasing the teenager as he rode his bike down the street.
“They started shooting at him. They were coming up from behind him,’’ said the man, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution. “I think he knew after the second shot that someone was trying to hit him.’’
The teenager crashed his bicycle, one witness said, and as the shooters fled, residents ran to his aid.
The boy’s uncle, Arlindo Lopes Pinto, ran outside to help.
“He looked to me. His eyes were still open,” Pinto said. “I called his name. He didn’t say anything. I took my shirt and covered his eyes. He died in my hands. I just started crying.”
In addition to his grieving parents, Dos Santos leaves his 9-year-old sister, Jennifer Dos Santos, who adored her brother, and recounted their relationship to the Globe after his murder:
“You feel like you have someone to take care of you,” she said [of her brother].
Jennifer said she and her brother had pet names for each other in Cape Verdean Creole. For her ninth birthday, Jonathan gave her a Barbie doll she named Jayla.
“We just watch some scary movies sometimes and make some popcorn,” she said.
She said she learned something had happened to Jonathan when she heard her mother and her aunt speaking about him being at Boston Medical Center.
When asked why anyone would hurt Jonathan, Jennifer fell silent.
The full Boston Police Department press release follows:
At about 7:52 PM on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, officers assigned to District B-3 (Mattapan) responded to a radio call for shots fired in the area of Washington and Fuller Streets in Dorchester. On arrival, officers located a 16-year-old male suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to Boston Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Officers were initially looking for two suspects, both black males in their late teens or early twenties, wearing green hoodies who fled the area on foot on Washington Street towards Mora Street.
Mayor Walsh and Commissioner Evans were on scene and appealed to the community for help in solving this crime, “We’re combing the area looking for witnesses and looking for the public’s cooperation,” Evans said, “Everyone should be outraged when a 16-year-old on his bike gets shot.”
The Boston Police Homicide Unit continues to actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Boston Police Homicide Detectives directly at (617) 343-4470.
Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to help this investigation in an anonymous manner.
