Two gunmen were caught on camera opening fire on a Boston sidewalk in broad daylight, sending children running for cover in terror.
The chaotic scene erupted on a Roxbury sidewalk where passers-by were going about their day until an unidentified man in a red hoodie and black pants opened fire around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday.
A group of people were seen getting out of the way of the bullets, including a little girl, as another unidentified gunman in a brown hoodie returned fire.
About 20 rounds of bullets were fired on the sidewalk that is home to several businesses, according to Boston 25 News.
No injuries were reported and no arrests were made.
Horrifying footage showed the moment two gunmen exchanged fire on a busy Boston sidewalk Wednesday around 6:45 p.m.
The shooting was one of several in the city that rocked locals. Another gunman opened fire Tuesday while he was in the middle of an intersection near Gallivan Boulevard, according to the news outlet.
But the violence began Monday when Haverhill pastor Danny Mayers, 33, was shot and killed outside Frederick High School.
It is not clear if Mayers was attacked, but police found him shot in a car.
Open investigations prompted Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox to address the rapidly rising crime on Thursday.
“We’re here and we care,” Cox said, according to WHDH. ‘From our perspective, people need to understand that this is a safe city. We can be safer with the help of the public.’
Authorities also said Thursday that shootings this year have decreased in the city, but the number of victims has increased, according to NBC Boston.
To combat the rising number of shootings, officials plan to dedicate $19 million to turn people away from crime by offering summer jobs and conspiring against illegal activities, such as illegal ATVs.
Several people, including a young girl, were seen scrambling for cover as bullets were fired.
About 20 rounds of bullets were fired on the sidewalk that houses several businesses.
In addition to fighting crime, Cox has worked strategically over the past year to reform the police department.
According to the police department’s website, the reforms focus on community involvement, trust, transparency and improving all aspects of policing.
Cox has emphasized proactive outreach and has worked to provide safety resources for the LGBTQ+ community when facing threats.
Other reforms to the police department include diversifying the workforce by hiring more blacks, indigenous peoples and people of color.
While the rate of shooting victims appears to be increasing in Boston, other US cities are seeing a rise in homicides.
Memphis, New Orleans and Richmond rank as America’s homicide hotspots, with academics linking their rising murder rates to soft-on-crime Democratic leadership and low police morale.
A study by WalletHub found that homicide rates increased by a tenth in the country’s largest cities between the first quarter of 2001 and the same period this year, and are still rising.
The researchers said that homicide rates began to rise in the covid-19 pandemic and found that Democratic-led cities suffered faster rising rates than their Republican counterparts.
WalletHub researchers found that homicide rates increased by a tenth in the nation’s largest cities between the first quarter of 2001 and the same period this year.
The number of child gun deaths rose from 1,732 to 2,590, the highest number since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began counting deaths in 1999.
The researchers ranked the cities by adding up their murder rates in the first three months of 2023 and comparing those numbers to the same periods in 2021 and 2022.
Memphis, New Orleans, Richmond, Washington DC, Detroit, Durham, Dallas. Milwaukee, Las Vegas and Kansas City ranked as the worst homicide hotspots in the United States.
New York was ranked 36th and Los Angeles 38th.
Norfolk, Omaha, Atlanta, Fort Worth and Raleigh ranked at the bottom of the list of hardest-hit big cities.
The researchers found that cities with a Democratic mayor had murder rates rising faster than those with a Republican leader.
