Cambridge to consider vote on temporary return of ShotSpotter following fatal shooting

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Cambridge City Council will consider temporarily reinstating ShotSpotter during Monday night’s meeting.

The discussion comes about a month after 32-year-old Xavier Bautista was shot and killed while walking to work in the early morning hours of July 4.

ShotSpotter discontinued

In May, the Cambridge City Council voted to discontinue ShotSpotter after dozens of residents spoke out against the gunshot detection technology during public hearings.

Opponents argued the system invades residents’ privacy and disproportionately impacts minority neighborhoods.

“I do not consent to being under constant surveillance in the nature of just moving about Cambridge,” one resident said during public comment before the council’s vote.

ShotSpotter uses a network of acoustic sensors installed throughout a city to detect suspected gunfire and alert police.

Temporary return under consideration

Some have questioned whether Bautista’s life could have been saved if the system had remained in place.

Police say Bautista was shot around 4:30 a.m., but he was not found until roughly an hour later.

“Xavier is not just a statistic,” his fiancée told Boston 25. “That was somebody’s father, somebody’s partner, somebody’s friend, somebody’s son, and what happened to him matters. He’s not just a number. It’s not just about technology. Our lives are forever changed.”

The Cambridge City Council is expected to vote Monday on whether to temporarily restore ShotSpotter.

Meanwhile, investigators have arrested and charged one man in connection with Bautista’s death. Police believe multiple suspects were involved in the shooting, and the investigation remains ongoing.

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