Aug 19, 2008 6:05 pm US/Eastern
Toddler Shooting Part Of Mounting Violence In City
ROXBURY (WBZ) ―
Harold Carter took a broom to the sidewalk, wishing he could sweep away gunfire in his Roxbury neighborhood that has become so commonplace.
"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
He's talking about Ferris Glover, who was shot Monday night while in the arms of his 17-year-old cousin on their Bragdon Street porch. The young boy was hit in the side. His teenage cousin was hit in the arm. "We heard pow, pow. We thought it was fireworks... Little Eric started crying and he didn't know he was shot, but he said 'Someone shot Farris,'" said the boys' grandmother Yvonne Johnson.
Tuesday morning, the caution tape was gone, and Ferris' family told WBZ's Ken MacLeod the 4-year-old is improving after surgery.
Nearby, police fanned out with the hope of prying loose some leads in the case.
This is the third time this summer an innocent child has been hit by gunfire. MacLeod tossed the mayor another troubling stat. "Mayor, what does it tell you that 39 people have been shot in the city since the first of the year that are under the age of 17?"
"That's a concerning factor," Menino said. "Because of the number of guns that are out there… The question somebody should ask is 'Where do the guns come from? Where do the young people get the guns?' Nobody wants to ask that question."
The group,
Stop Handgun Violence was asking that question on Tuesday after they unveiled a new billboard outside Fenway Park that read "We sell guns! No ID required! No background check! Criminals and terrorists welcome!"
The billboard is meant to question why anyone can buy almost any weapon at gun shows in this country without a criminal background check, or even showing ID.
Among other things, the group's leader accused Washington of turning its back on urban street crime. "Do you think if 80 to 90 percent of gunshot victims everyday were in Wellesley or Newton… white Congress wouldn't require background checks for gun sales?" asked John Rosenthal.
Police surmise that the shooter was targeting the teenage cousin. If detectives know why, they are not saying. Monday night, police indicated they had arrested a 17-year-old who would likely be charged in the shooting, but on Tuesday they backtracked on that. Now they say they are still hunting for a "person of interest."
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