A clash with the police in Dorchester resulted in the death of a 19-year-old man Saturday night.
Manuel DaVeiga, a Cape Verdean living in the South Boston neighborhood, died after a gunshot wound to the head. He was armed when he encountered four police officers investigating possible gang activity at about 9:30 p.m.
Boston Police Department spokesman James Kenneally said that he was unable to elaborate because “the incident itself is still under investigation.”
However, in an initial report, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said that after running from police and then exchanging fire, the teen “reloaded his weapon, put the gun to his head and shot himself.”
DaVeiga also suffered shots elsewhere during the firefight with police and sustained bullet wounds to his hand, hip and chest.
According to The Boston Globe, the incident took place when police encountered DaVeiga as the young man was visiting the memorial of a friend who had died in a shooting incident the month before in Roxbury, an area which, like Dorchester, has a history of gun violence.
Groups such as Cape Verdean Community UNIDO have been working for years to cut down on the violence that plagues the region, however the bloodshed continues.
After an influx of crime hit the city in 2006, Denise Gonsalves, then Executive Director of Cape Verdean Community UNIDO, said in a press release, “Today is the day we are coming together as one united community with one voice to talk about how we can embrace peace.”
However incidents of violence continue to be reported in the community.
President of Cape Verdean Community UNIDO Paulo DeBarros is now working on ways that peace can be reached in the Cape Verdean community, starting with developing an action plan to reach out to the neighborhood, according to The Boston Globe.
Many students at Boston University said they do not think police are doing enough to prevent violence from occurring in areas like Dorchester, where gun violence and crime are a problem year after year.
Danielle Bowen, a freshman in the School of Education, was saddened by news of the shooting.
“The fact that it happened shows that there are things that can be done. It’s a really unfortunate situation,” she said.
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Katie Millen, however, said she could see both sides of the situation.
“The police probably had to take some sort of action,” Millen said. “Whether shooting him was the right thing, I don’t know.”
However, a few students said some violence between police and young people may be partly a result of ill feelings that teenagers have towards law enforcement.
“I think a lot of the problem is that teens in that situation don’t feel like the police are on their side so the conflict ends up being more escalated,” said CAS freshman Rebecca Rutenberg.
Better gun control was one preventative measure that some thought could help cut down on crime and violence.
“One of the best ways of reducing crime, particularly street crime, is putting harsher measures on gun control,” Rutenberg said.
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