The 17th homicide of the year in Boston was a pretty tough one for sure. A sad story of a young out-of-town girl getting a stray bullet that doesn’t really do a hell of a lot for the city’s image.

A bit less violent, but equally random, a nice beat down in JP by some neighborhood thugs.

Per victim, the suspect approached him, demanded money of him and stated that he had a gun. The victim told the suspect that he had no money at which time the suspect started yelling demanding money, and assaulting the victim by punching him repeatedly. The victim, during the assault, tried to get away when the suspect pulled out a knife and started swinging at the victim. The victim was stabbed several times during the assault before the suspect fled.
More here.

And for those lovers of daytime violence that happens in the nice part of town, how about a random mid-day stabbing on Comm Ave?

Officers spoke to witnesses and determined that the suspect approached and attacked the victim while he was sitting on a park bench after exclaiming, “This is what you get for disrespecting me!” Per witnesses, the suspect placed the knife back in his pocket after stabbing the victim and walked away heading toward Copley Square on Dartmouth Street.More here.

Personally I never have felt unsafe here, but it is weekends like this that remind me that Boston is not isolated from the rest of the world’s large cities when it comes to crime.