Special2bme
May 23rd, 2009, 04:06 PM
Two young boys looked on as their mother, relaxing with a drink in her hand outside her apartment with friends and family, was shot dead by a cold-hearted killer, a neighbor said.
“I’ll never forget her little boy was looking through the window shouting, ‘Mommy get up! Mommy get up!’ ” said a neighbor who raced to the scene Thursday night moments after hearing gunshots. “It breaks my heart to think about it.”
The victim, identified by police as Deanna Watkins, 29, was looking away as two men on bicycles peddled toward the Arbutus Street home. One of them pulled out a gun, the neighbor said.
An adult who spotted the gun herded the three Watkins children to safety inside seconds before three gunshots rang out, but her two older boys saw their mother laying face down, her drink spilled beside her, bleeding to death.
Police, who were on the scene in seconds, turned Watkins over and pumped her chest, trying to keep her alive until the ambulance arrived.
“Her mother kept saying ‘She’s breathing. See? She’s breathing.’ But she was in shock. She (Watkins) was shot twice in the head,” she said.
Police Commissioner Edward Davis yesterday said Watkins was the intended target of the attack, but he declined to elaborate. No suspects have been arrested. Two men chased from the scene by Watkins’ relatives, followed by police and a mob of neighbors, were questioned and released.
“It was not a random shooting. All of the evidence we have at this point in time would indicate that she was the intended victim,” Davis said. “We have some very good intelligence. We’re very familiar with the address and some of the people involved in the area. So as I said I’m very happy with the progress of the investigation.”
Davis said while there had been reports of drug activity at the Watkins home, police have not established whether that was the motive for the shooting.
“We have very good suspect descriptions at this time, but as to the mode of transportation or descriptions, I’m not going to get into detail on that,” Davis said.
A day later, residents of the neighborhood still were talking about the mob chasing down the man they believed was the shooter.
“It was sad, but wonderful because everyone came together,” said Chiquana Clayton, a hairstylist at A Nu Look on Blue Hill Avenue. “They were yelling that they’re tired of innocent people getting shot.”
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2009_05_23_Neighbor:_sons_saw_mom_die:_Top_cop_say s_shooting_wasn_t_random/srvc=home&position=1
Oh how horrible that her two sons had to see her shot to death and the sad thing is they will never forget it.
May Deanna RIP.
“I’ll never forget her little boy was looking through the window shouting, ‘Mommy get up! Mommy get up!’ ” said a neighbor who raced to the scene Thursday night moments after hearing gunshots. “It breaks my heart to think about it.”
The victim, identified by police as Deanna Watkins, 29, was looking away as two men on bicycles peddled toward the Arbutus Street home. One of them pulled out a gun, the neighbor said.
An adult who spotted the gun herded the three Watkins children to safety inside seconds before three gunshots rang out, but her two older boys saw their mother laying face down, her drink spilled beside her, bleeding to death.
Police, who were on the scene in seconds, turned Watkins over and pumped her chest, trying to keep her alive until the ambulance arrived.
“Her mother kept saying ‘She’s breathing. See? She’s breathing.’ But she was in shock. She (Watkins) was shot twice in the head,” she said.
Police Commissioner Edward Davis yesterday said Watkins was the intended target of the attack, but he declined to elaborate. No suspects have been arrested. Two men chased from the scene by Watkins’ relatives, followed by police and a mob of neighbors, were questioned and released.
“It was not a random shooting. All of the evidence we have at this point in time would indicate that she was the intended victim,” Davis said. “We have some very good intelligence. We’re very familiar with the address and some of the people involved in the area. So as I said I’m very happy with the progress of the investigation.”
Davis said while there had been reports of drug activity at the Watkins home, police have not established whether that was the motive for the shooting.
“We have very good suspect descriptions at this time, but as to the mode of transportation or descriptions, I’m not going to get into detail on that,” Davis said.
A day later, residents of the neighborhood still were talking about the mob chasing down the man they believed was the shooter.
“It was sad, but wonderful because everyone came together,” said Chiquana Clayton, a hairstylist at A Nu Look on Blue Hill Avenue. “They were yelling that they’re tired of innocent people getting shot.”
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2009_05_23_Neighbor:_sons_saw_mom_die:_Top_cop_say s_shooting_wasn_t_random/srvc=home&position=1
Oh how horrible that her two sons had to see her shot to death and the sad thing is they will never forget it.
May Deanna RIP.