From Friday through early Tuesday, Springfield police responded to numerous violent crime reports, including the city's ninth homicide of the year.
Springfield Police search for shell casings on Lincoln Street, where a man was shot dead Sunday evening.SPRINGFIELD -- Differentiating between fireworks and gunfire can be tricky for police, who responded to numerous reports of "shots fired" and other violent episodes over the long Independence Day weekend in Springfield.
Despite the violence -- including multiple stabbings, shootings and the city's ninth homicide of the year -- Springfield Police Lt. John Slepchuk said this Fourth of July weekend wasn't any more unusual than past holiday weekends, although officers were running hard from late Friday through early Tuesday.
It's a common scenario on hot summer nights in Springfield, where many gunshot and stabbing victims transport themselves to area hospitals and many other calls don't produce suspects or witnesses. Add in the extra challenge of separating the popping sound of fireworks from gunfire, and a sort of resignation can settle in for the law enforcement officers who patrol high-crime areas after dark during these busy periods.
"The usual," said Springfield Police Lt. James Rosso, tidily summarizing the steady stream of violent crimes reported over the past few days.
Many shooting reports that come across the transom do produce victims, however, such as the fatal drive-by shooting of 38-year-old Raul E. Vera, who was gunned down Sunday evening in the McKnight section of the city.
The city's ninth homicide victim of the year, 38-year-old Raul E. Vera, was killed Sunday evening in the McKnight section of Springfield.Police said Vera, who has local gang ties, was on Lincoln Street when shots were fired from a passing car around 7:14 p.m. Authorities are on the lookout for three Hispanic men who fled the area in a silver Dodge Neon.
Numerous other gunfire incidents were reported over the past few days, including a man who was shot in the buttocks early Tuesday on Wellington Street in the city's Upper Hill neighborhood. The victim showed up at Mercy Medical Center for treatment around 12:40 a.m.
"He's claiming he was a bystander," Slepchuk said of the man, who told police he was shot outside 20 Wellington St.
Just after 3 a.m. Tuesday, police were called back to Wellington Street for another shooting report, though it remains unclear if anyone was injured in that incident.
And six blasts reported around 1:56 a.m. Tuesday by a Northampton Avenue resident turned out to be gunshots, not fireworks, according to police, who recovered multiple shell casings behind an Upper Hill home.
Also on early Tuesday, police said, a man was stabbed outside the Tedeschi convenience store at 266 Belmont Ave., near the corner of Forest street in the city's Forest Park neighborhood.The man received a knife wound to his right arm, according to Slepchuk.
Other gunfire incidents reported early Tuesday included a call to Oswego Street in the Hollywood section of the South End and a call to Pendleton Avenue in the Old Hill neighborhood. It wasn't immediately clear if any victims were tied to the calls.
Around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, a security guard reported that he came under fire from a BB gun on Chestnut Street near the corner of Carew Street. The guard called 911 as he hid behind a mailbox to avoid being hit, police said.
Other holiday weekend violence included an armed robbery reported Monday at around 4:20 a.m. Julio Viruet, 26, of 69 Longhill St., is charged in connection with the alleged gunpoint robbery of the Sunoco gas station at 487 East Columbus Ave. in the city's South End.
A man was stabbed in the parking lot of the IHOP restaurant on Boston Road around 4:47 a.m. Monday, while a woman was arrested around 12:30 a.m. Monday for allegedly stabbing the father of her baby and the man's current girlfriend at a Pendleton Avenue residence in Old Hill. Shanice Smithers, 23, is scheduled to be arraigned on charges Tuesday in Springfield District Court.
Gunfire erupted around 2:30 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Wilbraham Road and Alden Street in Upper Hill. A state trooper stopped at a red light near the scene witnessed people scattering as shots rang out. It wasn't immediately clear if the shooting produced any victims or suspects.
Springfield detectives continue to investigate Sunday's homicide.
Darwin Dawkins was among the neighborhood residents who heard the gunfire, which happened while people were outside celebrating the holiday weekend.
“We heard three shots and we thought they were M-80’s (fireworks),“ Dawkins said.
This year's murders in Springfield have all occurred within just over a five-month period, beginning with the Jan. 26 killing of 24-year-old David Acevedo, who was shot in broad daylight on Riverton Road in the Pine Point neighborhood. Two men have been charged in connection with his death.