On Friday, there was a large turnout at the annual Youth Enrichment Day event at Northeastern University. It's days like this that Boston officials hope translate into more productivity and less violence for the city's future.
Nine people were shot in the city since Wednesday, killing three of the victims, and city leaders are fighting back.
"We're working our hardest. You know, we're out there. I got all kinds of resources out there in those areas where we continuously see the violence. We've got bike officers we put our new recruits," explained Boston Police Commissioner William Evans.
No word on motives behind the shootings. City Councilor Tito Jackson, who represents part of the area where the violence seems to center, says whatever the reason, it's unacceptable. He says the city is in crisis.
"To me, someone's dead. Someone's missing their son or daughter and, in fact, have over one million words in English language. You lose your husband, you're a widow. You lose your wife, you're a widower. You lose your parents, you're an orphan. We have over one million words in English language, but there's no word for parent that loses their child. That's what I know," Jackson said.
Commissioner Evans says he plans to meet with local clergy and other community leaders.
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"We're going to have a team back on Monday just making sure we're on top of this. We've got about three more weeks of the summer and we want to make it so no young kids get shot," Evans said.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says keeping the city's youth away from violence has always been one of his priorities.
"We need to do more of what we're doing and as I said yesterday, with city resources and city police, we will spread ourselves thin and that's important to do but we also need some help," Walsh said.
They're looking to the community for that help, adults helping young people make the right decisions, so the city can celebrate the future.
No arrests have been made in connection to the shootings. The investigations are on-going.
