Rebeca Oliveira and David Taber
Candlelight vigil held
BROOKSIDE— Luis “Tito” Torres, 23, who was shot on Boylston Street on Oct. 23 and died from his injuries the following day, was remembered in a vigil and memorial on Oct. 25 at the Egleston YMCA on Washington Street.
About 80 people went to the memorial, including family, neighbors, District 6 City Councilor candidate Matt O’Malley and representatives from City Councilors At-Large Felix Arroyo and Ayanna Pressley’s offices.
Torres was found lying in front of 201 Boylston St. at around 6:15 p.m. Oct. 23, Boston Police Department (BPD) spokesperson Officer James Keneally told the Gazette. Torres was transported to Brigham and Women’s Hospital before succumbing to his injuries, according to BPD spokesman Eddy Chrispin.
Officers located a second victim at the corner of School and Washington Streets. That victim was taken to Boston Medical Center and was treated for a non-life-threatening injury.
Ballistics evidence was found near the site, half a block from Washington Street, on Oct. 28, according to police reports.
Mark Pelletier, a staffer at the arts, advocacy and youth organization Spontaneous Celebrations, told the Gazette that Torres was close to many youths involved with Beantown Society, a youth organization run by Spontaneous Celebrations.
“The violence this weekend, though incredibly sad, does not mean that the community isn’t moving forward and making progress. It just means that there’s much more to be done,” Egleston Square Main Streets director Betsy Cowan said in an e-mail.
Torres’s family said through a family friend that they did not wish to make a statement.
There were two non-fatal daylight shootings in nearby Egleston square in August that injured eight people.
In 2008, Beantown Society youths dealt with a similar situation after 20-year-old Luis Troncoso was fatally shot on a Southwest Corridor park basketball court near the Stony Brook T Station.
The location of the incident is on the border of the Brookside and Egleston Square neighborhoods, not far from Parkside.
The BPD Homicide Unit is actively investigating this incident and urges anyone with information to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 343-4470. Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can either call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1(800) 494-TIPS or text a ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463), according to BPD press materials.