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Police found Tory Lamont Smith, 27, of Fenwick Street on the second floor stairway suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet. Police officers performed CPR on Smith who was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Uniformed officers John Taylor and James Jackson spotted a suspect leaving the area on foot down Dawes Street and stopped him. Charged with murder and carrying a firearm in connection with the shooting was Shadeed Jameel Mahdi, 24, of 75 Elmwood Ave., Holyoke, Delaney said. Mahdi was arrested at 6 p.m. Delaney said the killing is gang-related as was the Aug. 22 slaying that took the life of Jerry A. Hughes III. Hughes, 21, was gunned down in the parking lot of the McDonald's at the Mid-Town Plaza on State Street as bullets were sprayed around the crowded parking lot. A 13-year-old boy was grazed in the foot as he walked by the nearby Rebecca Johnson School. Two teenage boys who police say have gang ties were charged by police in connection with that slaying. Smith was the 14th homicide victim of the year in Springfield. There were 14 killings in the city in 2008. Several days after the Aug. 22 shooting, about 25 people gathered, including clergy and elected officials, to call for an end to neighborhood violence and for young people to avoid involvement in gangs. DeJuan Brown, chief executive officer of AWAKE, a community-based anti-violence group, said Tuesday night that young people need to halt the violence.
"This happened in broad daylight. The fighting between gangs is out of hand," he said. He said violence affects all members of the community. Members of one street gang have relatives in another gang, he said. He added that the young people need encouragement from the older members of the community to take a path other than gangs and violence as well as opportunities for additional education and jobs. Following the August slaying Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Fitchet announced an immediate expansion of police patrols, including walking patrols, in the Mason Square area.
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