Eruption of violence in Boston: 7 killings in less than a week

A horrific week of violence in Boston — seven slayings in less than a week — led to calls on Sunday to end the bloodshed and for a serious investment in mental-health services in the city.

A woman was shot to death early Sunday morning in Dorchester, according to police who reported the seventh killing in Boston since Tuesday.

“It’s just absolutely terrible,” Mary Franklin, founder of the Women Survivors of Homicide Movement, told the Herald. “If our city would invest in serious mental-health services for poor communities, we would be able to decrease a lot of the crime and trauma.

“Mixed with the COVID-19 pandemic, we just have a mess here,” she added.

Police arrested Kristian Maraj, 22, of Dorchester, for the Sunday morning slaying. Maraj is being charged with murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.