Community Leaders Support East Boston as Locals Grieve After Shootout
Will Tentindo
Oct. 17, 2016
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Boston Police Commission William B. Evans, members of the police force and residents of East Boston gathered for an evening Mass on Monday night at St. Joseph-St. Lazarus Church in Orient Heights, one of the many community gatherings after a nearby shootout on Wednesday that left two police officers in critical condition.
The Mass was organized by Marissa Capone Todisco, 18, of Winthrop, who woke up Thursday morning to the news of the shootings. Immediately, she said, she went on Facebook and when she could not find a Mass, she contacted St. Joseph-St. Lazarus Church and Father Mirek Kowalczyk agreed that his community needed the service.
“I’ve had many positive experiences with the Boston Police Department,”said Capone Todisco before the service, “I hope we all learn that violence is not the answer.”
Hours before the Mass, Officers Richard Cintolo and Matthew Morris, who were shot Wednesday night, were announced to be in stable condition at Massachusetts General Hospital, according to Evans, who spoke outside of the church before the service.
“I’m just thankful, honestly, that these two officers are making such remarkable progress,” Evans said.
On Oct. 12, Boston police responded to a domestic disturbance call and became engaged in a gun fight in the area of 136 Gladstone Street, according to the police. Two officers were in critical condition after being shot by Kirk Figueroa, 33, at his East Boston residence. Figueroa, a constable, was armed with a tactile shotgun and wearing body armor before being shot and killed by other responding officers, according to the police.
Details of the night, including Cintolo and Morris’ names, were released Thursday in a press conference by Evans. Evans did not go into much further detail Monday night in an effort not to interfere with the District Attorney’s investigation into the Boston Police Department’s use of deadly force against Figueroa, but did share the story of one officer that night.
“One particular officer stood between the individual who already shot our officers and protected the officers and continued to give them cover, while the other officers were able to safely remove the other two and apply the necessary urgent care that was necessary.”
Alicia Powers, 36, of East Boston, neighbors the scene of the shootings and was shocked by Wednesday’s incident, saying she heard about 100 shots that night.
“When the police arrived [on my street] was the first sense of relief,” Powers saidwhile greeting familiar faces after the service and feeding her baby, “It’s a good neighborhood and the thought of having to carry my kid, ducking windows,” Powers said without finishing the thought.
Residents of Orient Heights were woken up by the phone calls, sirens and a helicopter light Wednesday night while police placed the neighborhood on lockdown, according to multiple residents.
Police remained in the area for an extended amount of time. “I never saw so many [police officers] in my life,” said Nancy Mottola, 75, as she sat next to her friend Elsie Carter, 97, on Carter’s front porch in East Boston. “They said get in the house and lock your doors.”
Police closed the street until Friday, according to Paul Hawkins, 59, who lives and works near the scene of the crime.
“I went to the window and I saw more police than you could ever think of existing,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins works maintenance at the Madonna Queen of the Universe National Shrine Catholic Church, which the shooter’s house faces. The Friday after the shooting, a vigil to honor the officers in the neighborhood was held in front of the religious shrine that towers over Orient Heights.
Before the Monday Mass, the neighborhood was quiet barring the few workmen that were moving boxes marked as hazardous waste from the house through a bent gate.
“For a long time, you used to know everybody walking by,” said Mottola.
“Now, you don’t know anybody,” Carter interjected.
“The East Boston community has been incredible in these times,” said Mayor Walsh before the service, which about 100 people attended. Many residents remain shaken as the story in further uncovered. In addition to the services at the two churches this past week, residents marched in a peace walk for the wounded officers.
“Something like this hasn’t happened in East Boston in a long time,” said Renee Scalfeni, 46, a member of the community board in Jeffries Point.
“I wanted to be an officer, and this makes you think twice about that,” said Capone Todisco.