Early in the week, in the predawn hours, an apartment at 95 Chester Avenue held two sleeping Chelsea young men, along with others inside. One or more assailants entered the residence and shot both men fatally. They were killed instantly—executed, in effect. When police arrived later that morning in response to a call, word spread quickly: two men had been shot dead in Chelsea. A substantial crowd assembled outside the building. To manage the gathering while investigators worked the scene, state police were summoned. The Chelsea Record received two messages from prominent city officials expressing their horror at the violence. City Manager Jay Ash and Police Chief Brian Kyes both reacted with deep concern. Like residents throughout Chelsea, they found this brutal double homicide—this execution of two young men, each 26 years old—difficult to comprehend. Both victims had prior contact with local law enforcement. Many suspect drugs played a role, possibly cocaine, and that the killings may have been carried out by a drug dealer seeking payment for stolen or unpaid product. The identities of those responsible remain unknown, as do the precise circumstances. What drives people to commit such acts? Such behavior belongs to those who have abandoned their humanity—animals, savages, individuals who have surrendered their connection to life. The two Chelsea men executed this week were known to police, and their lives were not without fault. Yet they did not merit death. A more pressing question looms: how many more will die, will be executed, in this city and throughout Greater Boston before the community unites to eliminate guns and curb this violence?
The double homicide on Chester Avenue
