Daytime shooting of 88-year-old man stuns Brockton

The Enterprise of Brockton, Mass.
www.enterprisenews.com

BROCKTON — City and law enforcement officials scrambled to get extra manpower onto the streets after an 88-year-old man was shot Wednesday in broad daylight out side his home, the fourth shooting here in as many days.
"This is my worst fear: that people who are just in their homes, minding their own business, going about their lives, become the target of someone with a gun," City Coun cilor-at-large Thomas Brophy said.
State police were to ramp up patrols in the city again to bolster the city ranks as authorities reached out to federal law enforcement agencies for help in quelling the gun vi olence.
This comes as every Brockton detective hit the streets to identify suspects in four shootings — two of them fatal — in three corners of the city since Saturday.
The latest shooting — that of John M. Connolly, who was wounded outside his Fairmount Street home Wednesday afternoon — stunned a city already reeling from the killing of a 15-year-old boy a day earlier.
"I'm speechless at this point," City Councilor-at-large Linda Balzotti said. "It is very shocking and it is devastating."
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, who is also acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, pledged to help law enforcement in the city and said an ATF field office is being planned for southeastern Massachusetts.
Targeting violent criminals in federal court with long records — including those on probation and parole who re-offend — as well as tracking guns used in crimes and who is selling them on the street illegally are part of the ongoing efforts that will continue, Sullivan said.
"We have a number of pressure points we can apply," he said.
Sullivan said the city already works closely with federal authorities, a partnership that will continue.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said authorities will draw on as many resources as possible from state and federal agencies.
"It's a resource issue," he said. "When we have a spate of incidents like this, we reach out to the powers for more help ... There are a lot of guns out there and a lot of people have guns and are not afraid to use them."
Phyllis Bunker, who found the 15-year-old boy shot to death in her yard Tuesday, said she is now afraid to leave her home.
"I'm living in fear now," she said.
Police Chief William Conlon said the city was already working with state and federal authorities, as well as task forces and coalitions aimed at gun-toting criminals and curbing guns on the street, before this latest wave of violence.
Now, it's time for those who know who is committing the crimes to start talking, he said.
"We have put out a plea to people, to families and friends who know anything: please come forward with that information. This doesn't serve the best interests of anyone," Conlon said.

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