A man is dead after an incident at the bed and breakfast on Wyman St. On September 28, officers responded to a report of a domestic incident at 21 Wyman St. at around 10:00pm. It was reported that more than 20 people people were inside the building at the time of the incident. The bed and breakfast is unpopular with many residents of the neighborhood who are concerned about the uncertainty of who will be coming to their neighborhood each day. This is a common concern among neighbors abutting bed and breakfasts and other short term rentals in neighborhoods across the city.
BPD officer William Jones said at the Jamaica Pond Association (JPA) meeting on October 8 that a man “may have had a bad reaction to marijuana bought legally,” and “the individual was able to slip away from us.” He shot at officers after entering the property. Police called in a SWAT team and a hostage negotiation team for reinforcement. then a little later, the man broke a window and shot at an officer again. An officer eventually fired in the man’s direction. The man was found dead from a gunshot wound, and the situation is being investigated by Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins. The man has been identified as 37-year-old Isaac Rasheed Smith.
“My office is in the initial stages of investigating a complicated sequence of events that began with a domestic disturbance call at 10 p.m. last night at 21 Wyman Street in Jamaica Plain, evolved into a standoff situation in the building which is used as a bed and breakfast, and ended with the death of an individual who lived at the dwelling and assisted with the day to day operations of the property,” DA Rollins said in a statement on September 29.
“I want to commend the Boston Police Department and their coordinated multi-unit and jurisdictional response during this dangerous and tense incident and for successfully evacuating the more than 20 guests who were staying at the establishment. As I have too frequently said, any loss of life is a tragedy and this too is the case here. As the process to notify family members continues, we offer our condolences to his loved ones. I am grateful for the witnesses who have provided statements to this office. The District Attorney is responsible for every death investigation in Suffolk County and I pledge transparency in these investigations. More information will be made public when it is appropriate to do so.”
“We dealt with a lot of unknowns,” Officer Jones said. “It’s just a tragedy all the way around”—for those in the building, for residents on the street, and for officers, he continued. He said the incident is “isolated” and “one of those unfortunate moments in time that could happen anywhere.”
“Something like this impacts a lot of different parts of the community,” said JPA Chair Rosemary Jones. Jones said for the officers, they risk being exposed to PTSD, and the Boston Police Department’s job is to make sure officers involved in situations like this are given proper medical attention. “First and foremost, we’re concerned with our officers’ safety and well-being,” he said.
As for the community, there are organizations such as Tree of Life/Arbol de Vida that care for families and support their health and well-being after involvement in incidents like these, Jones said.