Mayor tries to quell fear after killings
Insists 'city is working'; victim of bus attack dies
By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff | April 2, 2007
Mayor Thomas M. Menino attended Palm Sunday services in the city yesterday, trying to reassure people that Boston is safe.
"This city is working," Menino told more than 900 people gathered at Morning Star Baptist Church in Mattapan. "There are good things happening. Let's not focus on the negatives."
Menino spoke several hours after Dwayne Graham, 18, of Hyde Park, who was shot in the head Friday while riding a city bus, was taken off life support Saturday night, according to Boston police. Graham became the 16th homicide victim in the city this year; Boston had 10 homicides at this point last year.
The victim's mother, Dorese Graham, told New England Cable News: "I lost my son, and I will never see him again. They took a piece of my heart . . . part of me . . . just ripped it out of my heart. I forgive them. I just hope and pray that they get caught."
Many residents have been terrified by the spasm of violence that began Friday afternoon, when Graham was shot on an Ashmont-bound bus at 3:30 in the afternoon, and continued last night when a man was shot in the back on Angell Street, near Franklin Park in Dorchester.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation into Graham's shooting said police were probing the possibility that the slaying was gang-related and tied to the conviction last month of Ivan Hodge and O'Neil Francis for shooting and killing 17-year-old Tacary Jones on an MBTA bus in Roxbury in March 2005.
Another man -- identified by the official as James Jacobs, who was in his 20s -- was fatally shot on McLellan Street in Dorchester Friday night.
Menino sought to quell fears with brief, low-key remarks to the congregation on Blue Hill Avenue, which bisects the area where most of the homicides this year have occurred. Menino, who came to the service with his wife, Angela, told the worshipers to help any young person they believe might be at risk of falling prey to violence.
"We need to work together," he said, speaking softly. "Stay focused. Reach out. Reach out to touch somebody."
After the service, as he headed to the Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester, Menino said he has been too busy to meet with the Guardian Angels, a self-appointed safety patrol based in New York that returned to Boston last week. The mayor said he would see if he can find time in his schedule.
"Let's not play on vigilantes," said Menino, who has said gangs seem to be behind much of the violence. "Let's play on vigilance."
Menino received warm applause from the Morning Star congregation, and some worshipers said they felt reassured by his speech.
"He's supportive of the neighborhoods," said Beverly Rogers, 45, of Roslindale, who has attended services at Morning Star for two years. "We need something. We need some help."
But Arva Byron, 17, of Dorchester said she was not comforted by Menino's words.
"I do believe Boston should call a state of emergency," she said, referring to the declaration that the Rev. Bruce Wall, pastor at Global Ministries Christian Church, has made on his radio show and plastered in white letters on his church window.
"Lives are at risk, and I have friends who are afraid to walk the streets," Byron said.
The Rev. John M. Borders III, who led the service at Morning Star, called on his congregation to pray for an end to the violence.
"We pray that [perpetrators] will bring their weapons to the house of the Lord and lay them on the altar and lay themselves on the altar," he said.
At a later service at Global Ministries near Codman Square, members of the Guardian Angels said they have a list of names and phone numbers of 35 to 40 people between the ages of 15 and 25 who want to help patrol the streets of Dorchester.
Some in law enforcement see the Guardian Angels as media-hungry vigilantes, and neither City Hall nor the Police Department has embraced the group. But the group said it plans to remain in the city until crime drops. One member yesterday said the organization plans to recruit up to 200 volunteers, the number the Boston chapter boasted at its peak during the 1980s and early 1990s. The chapter disbanded in 1992.
Many teenage men have approached the Angels eager to sign up, said John Ayala of the Angels' Washington, D.C., chapter. He was speaking to more than 100 worshipers gathered at Global Ministries, where the pastor, Wall, has invited the group to set up headquarters.
"We're having people praising us and thanking us," Ayala said. "They're walking up and saying: 'How can I join? How can I get involved?' "
At Global Ministries, church deacons stood behind the eight Angels who attended the service, placed their hands on their shoulders, and prayed for their well-being.
The Angels, who have about 16 volunteers so far, have walked the streets during the day and patrolled MBTA stations and trains at night, including the Orange and Red lines, said Erich Kennedy, a Boston resident who had been active with the group when they were here previously.
Wall told his congregation that the Guardian Angels have arrived as the city is desperate for more help.
"I'm tired of walking the streets by myself," he said. "I'm so thankful God sent me some angels."
Maria Cramer can be reached at
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