Shot tot better, in surgery today
The grandmother of the 4-year-old who was hit in the back by a stray bullet said he is recovering in the hospital, and the family is touched by the outpouring of support from the community.
“He’s fine. He’s fine,” she said yesterday at a rally for peace held at Franklin Field, where the grandmother was surrounded by community leaders who offered to do all they could to help her family. “I just came by to show my thanks and get some things before I head back to the hospital.”
The critically injured boy remained heavily sedated and was due to undergo another surgery today, said a source close to the family.
Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said yesterday investigators have “significant” leads, and the age of the critically injured boy has been a “serious factor” in people’s willingness to help.
“People are angry,” Davis said. “The mayor’s angry. I’m angry.”
The Rev. William Dickerson drove by Harambee Park on Monday moments before the gunfire erupted. “There were a bunch of people out here. They were cooking out, playing dominoes. It was a beautiful evening. My wife said, ‘Summer’s in full bloom.’ Twenty minutes after leaving Talbot Avenue I got a call the boy had been shot.”
Dickerson went to Boston Medical Center, where he prayed with the family. City Councilor Charles Yancy said he went from the shooting scene to the hospital, where he spent an agonizing night at the family’s side. He said the boy’s older sister was treated for a panic attack.
Dickerson said the family is well-respected.
“These are hardworking parents, doing the right thing,” he said. “To have something like this happen to a precious kid … she’s appreciative that people have reached out to her, but she’s angry that something like this could happen to her child.”
At last night’s rally, speakers voiced outrage over a boy shot as he played on a warm summer night.
“It’s not OK for our children to be shot in the night,” said Ann Marie Robinson of Mothers for Justice and Equality. “Today is a day when we have people coming together to say it’s not OK.”
Colneth Smiley contributed to this report.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1348624
