What seemed to begin as a typical Monday
with a full schedule of meetings set for the morning with more in the afternoon
changed with one phone call. During my second meeting of the day, an urgent note
was delivered to me that a shooting had occurred in broad daylight on a main thoroughfare
near a very busy restaurant.
As always, my first instinct was to call
the Police Department to get the details of the incident and to make sure they
had all the resources of the government they needed to investigate the incident
and to bring the perpetrator(s) to justice.
Next I contacted School Superintendent
David DeRuosi to ensure our schools were appropriately locked down until the
Police Department gave the all-clear for students to be outside for lunch and recess.
Superintendent DeRuosi handled the situation with the utmost diligence as did our
school Principals and staff.
My office has been working judiciously
with Police officials to release information to the community as it happens. To
this end, my office issued an immediate statement to the City Council and local
press and posted it to the City website and social media applications Facebook
and Twitter. Thanks to a superb effort
of the Malden Police Department, a suspect was apprehended within minutes of
the shooting. Upon the arrest, I conferred with members of the press to further
assure residents and businesses that we will continue to work on ways to make
Malden a safer community.
During a 2 ½ hour Executive Session
meeting with the City Council last Tuesday night we discussed new initiatives to provide more
of a police presence around the City. The Council voted to add additional
police officers to our ranks and I am truly grateful and appreciative of their
unanimous support.
Next, I met with Chief Holland and the
Executive Boards of both police unions on Wednesday night to discuss further initiatives
to address the recent shootings. And last Friday night there was a coordinated
K-9 Sweep across Malden involving a multitude of law enforcement agencies,
including K-9 units from Everett, Chelsea, Medford, Revere, Saugus, Somerville
and Winchester. Valuable support was also provided by the Massachusetts State
Police, Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, Essex Sherriff’s Office and the Metro North
Gang Task Force.
More K-9 Sweeps of Malden are planned in
an effort to send a strong message that we will not tolerate violence in our
community. We are also looking to work with Middlesex District Attorney Gerry
Leone to create a model that would track the young adults that are at the root
of the problem in Malden and pair them up with an organization that provides
high-risk intervention services.
Thank you
for hanging in there with us and please continue to let Police officials know
at 781-322-1212 if you notice any suspicious activity. Together we will work to
build a safer Malden.
