BOSTON — A 16-year-old was shot in killed in South Boston Monday night, in what the mayor calls a ‘sad and disturbing’ incident.
Mayor Marty Walsh spoke to Boston 25 News Tuesday afternoon, revealing he was alerted to the fatal shooting shortly after 11 p.m. Monday night by the police commissioner.
“It’s certainly a bad call to get anytime you get a call like that, but especially when you get 15 and 16-year-olds and loss of life,” he said. “It’s sad and disturbing.”
Police arrived at the scene in Southie to find two teen victims. One was a 15-year-old, the other was a 16-year-old who later died from his injuries.
“The police department has taken over 650 guns off the street this year and to have a homicide like that, it’s terrible,” Walsh said. “It’s terrible.”
The father of the teen who died told Boston 25 News his son wasn't the target.
"So the shooting is for somebody else and he's next to the person so the person who was supposed to get shot," Edwin Santana said.
Santana's son, Angel Daniel Suazo who went by Steven, was a ninth grade student at Tech Boston Academy and an athlete.
Walsh referred questions about the investigation to Boston police, but said investigators couldn’t yet say if the shooting was gang-related.
“Whether it’s gang-related or not, it’s still a 16-year-old kid on a school night out there and it’s scary,” he said. “I mean, it’s two high school kids, you know, their whole life is in front of them and one of them now is no longer with us and my heart goes out to the family.”
Police said the 15-year-old victim, identified by family members as Ascar Nadal, was taken to Tufts Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
A witness told Boston 25 News they heard someone yell ‘no’ before the gunshots. Several witnesses were taken to the police department to give statements.
The shooting was not random, police said, but a possible motive hasn't been released.
MORE: 16-year-old killed, 15-year-old injured in Boston double shooting