Stoughton High School student identified as fatal Mattapan shooting victim

Two of the people shot in a rash of gun violence in Boston following Independence Day celebrations were Stoughton Public School students. One of them died from his injuries.

The school district announced on Saturday that Christian Cousins, a rising senior in Stoughton High School’s 2025 class, was fatally shot while in Mattapan with another SHS student — who was also shot but survived — Friday afternoon.

“It is never easy to deal with the loss of a student, especially under these circumstances,” the school district wrote in a Facebook post. “Our thoughts are with Christian’s family, friends, and teachers, as well as the whole Stoughton High community. We are also keeping the other SHS student and their family and friends in our thoughts.”

The school says that its “Crisis Team” will meet with the school community and provide information on available support options.

Cousins and the unidentified female student were shot while sitting in a car in the area of Gladeside Avenue and Donwood Terrace, police say.

The day following Independence Day celebrations was “an active 24 hours,” Boston Police Superintendent Felipe Colon, told reporters in a briefing Friday, in which police responded to a number of shootings — in Mattapan, Roxbury, the South End, Dorchester and in Roxbury.

Colon told reporters that police did not believe the Mattapan shooting was a random attack.

The first shooting was called in at 1:26 a.m. Officers responded to 297 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain and found three adults suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to BPD.

Minutes later, at 1:33 a.m., police responded to the area of 618 Shawmut Ave. in Roxbury. A man who suffered gunshot wounds there would later die at a hospital, police said.

Then at 5:18 a.m., police were called to 783 Blue Hill Ave. in Dorchester where a victim was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden wrote in a statement Friday night that “After the violence we saw on Friday we need community involvement more than ever.”

“We didn’t declare victory during the dip in shootings and homicides in Boston and we won’t declare defeat during a spike. What we will do is focus ever harder on what works: smart policing, effective prosecutions and deep community involvement,” he wrote. “I urge anyone with information about these incidents to contact police.”

The BPD asks that anyone with information regarding the Mattapan shooting to contact detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS (8477) or by texting the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).

This is a developing story.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/06a2yvq