'We shouldn't have to do this with our kids,' Teen shot and killed in Dorchester remembered at vigil
BOSTON - Teenagers cried, hugged, lit candles, spray painted messages, and released balloons into the sky Thursday night in memory of Curtis Ashford Jr.
The fifteen-year-old boy was shot and killed Wednesday night in his Dorchester neighborhood along Ellington Street. The shooting happened around 7:30, a time when Ashford was heading home after playing basketball with friends, his mother told WBZ.
"This is sad," said Alexa Lust, one of the parents who helped organize Thursday night's vigil. "This is real sad. Boston needs to get it together, seriously because this is crazy. This could've been anybody's son, this could've been anybody's child."
Lust's daughter was close with the victim. She says they talked on the phone and Facetimed a lot. "We shouldn't have to do this with our kids," she told WBZ. "I shouldn't have to be at here lighting candles, doing this with balloons to support my 14-year-old daughter. Why do these kids 14, 15 have guns? How do they get access to this?"
Lust was one of many people honoring Ashford at Thursday's vigil who told WBZ they are sick and tired of gun violence in their neighborhoods, especially when the victims are children. It's hard enough "trying to explain to my kid how her friend got shot, but the real question is for the higher ups, not the kids, how did these kids get their hands on guns?" Lust said.
Police have not found Ashford's killer. They have asked anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-494-TIPS.
