Downtown Boston neighborhood group calls for more police after recent shootings

BOSTON — The Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association is calling for an increased police presence downtown, as well as more police officers on staff.

The calls for increased public safety come after five people were shot in three separate incidents over the last 17 days.

The most recent incident was early Wednesday morning when Boston police responded to a shooting victim on Bromfield Street.

The victim, an unidentified man, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and told police he was shot in the area of Summer and Arch Streets.

In addition to more officers patrolling, DBNA is also asking for a public safety briefing with neighborhood stakeholders to review recent incidents of violence.

A letter sent Wednesday to Mayor Wu, Commissioner Cox, and other city officials said: “We turned Downtown around once by acting with urgency, coordination, and shared purpose. We believe this moment calls for that same commitment. Together, we can ensure Downtown Boston remains a neighborhood where residents, workers, visitors, and businesses are not only safe, but feel safe.”

DBNA Letter to City of Boston BPD Councilors by Boston 25 Desk

Rishi Shukla, co-founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, said they’ve seen progress regarding public safety in recent years, but it’s a collaborative effort.

Shukla said he would like the city to take further steps to prevent violence, such as seeing an increased police presence downtown.

“For us as residents and leaders in the downtown area, we want to make sure that we can deter those activities before they actually happen,” Shukla said.

“It took 90 of us together in a room in February of 2025 to say, ‘enough is enough we have to do better’,” Shukla said. “We did the work and it worked. I think we need to revisit that playbook and see if we can borrow some of the tools in that tool kit and try again.”

No arrests have been made in the Bromfield St. investigation.

Boston 25 News has reached out to Mayor Wu’s office for comment and is waiting to hear back.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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