Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Police increase presence at Lynn high school following deadly shootings
Officials said gang-related violence was on the rise after three were injured in a shooting at a strip mall and two teenagers were killed near a gas station the next day.
In the wake of multiple shootings that led to the deaths of two teenagers and caused serious injuries to others, there was an increased police presence at Lynn Classical High School starting Wednesday.
“We acknowledge with you the pain and anxiety caused by the senseless acts of violence that occurred these past few days. The families of these young men will never be the same, and the grief that they are experiencing is shared by their friends and the school community where they were students,” Superintendent Evonne S. Alvarez, Mayor Jared Nicholson, and Police Chief Christopher Reddy wrote in a letter to the school community Tuesday.
Advertisement:
On Dec. 27, three people were seriously injured after an unidentified suspect opened fire at a Pizza Hut in a strip mall. Authorities said that they believed this to be a “targeted incident.”
The next day, a 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were shot and killed near a gas station on Camden Street. A vigil was held there shortly afterward, NBC10 Boston reported. Officials have not released the names of any of the victims, but Saveth Kul told NBC that his son was the 19-year-old who died.
“He’s a good son, he goes to school every day,” he told the station. “Every day he comes back home, listens to his mom and dad. He never hurt nobody else, you know.”
Advertisement:
The heightened police presence will initially involve assigning a uniformed officer to Lynn Classical while classes are in session. Officials said they are also considering adding a full-time school resource officer.
“We understand that the destructive decisions of a few are also profoundly impacting our community’s sense of safety and security,” the officials wrote.
In Lynn, there has been an “uptick in brazen acts of violence by known gang members,” the officials wrote. The Lynn Police Department’s gang unit and drug task force are working with the State Police and federal law enforcement officials to crack down on gang-related activity.
Lynn police work with partners like Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy and Catholic Charities to help gang members escape the criminal organizations and to help combat gang recruitment by providing safe alternatives for young people.
“The Lynn Police Department is here to serve and protect, and we will continue to do what is needed to address this alarming increase in violence and bring those involved in this week’s shootings to justice,” officials wrote.
Anyone with information about the shootings is urged to call Lynn police at 781-595-2000. Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting TIP411 (847411) or by clicking the “Submit a Tip” button on the Lynn Police Department’s official website.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com