Paula was gunned down while visiting her grandma. Do you know who is responsible? On the evening of October 3, 2011, a 23-year-old African-American woman named Paula Jacobs was visiting her grandmother at the Orchard Gardens Housing Development in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. While standing in a courtyard with friends, at least two gunmen opened fire, shattering the night's peace. In the chaos that ensued, Paula was struck by a bullet.
Her mother, who was nearby, heard the gunshots and had called for her to come inside just moments before.
Paula's mother found her with a devastating neck wound. Her last words to her mother were, "Mommy, I got shot." Paula was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where she fought for her life for six days before passing away from her injuries on October 9, 2011. Those who knew her described her as a good person with no known enemies and no connections to the street crime that plagued the area, making her murder a senseless act of violence.
The Boston Police Department's investigation into Paula's murder remains active and unsolved. Detectives have surveillance video from that night which shows a silver or gray late-model Dodge Charger stopping at a nearby intersection. Two figures are seen exiting the vehicle and running towards the courtyard where Paula and her friends were standing. Just four seconds later, those same figures are seen running back to the car, which then sped off. Ballistic evidence later connected the guns used in Paula's murder to two other unsolved shootings that occurred in Boston's Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods in 2011, one of which resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man and the other in the injury of a 4-year-old boy. Despite the presence of witnesses to the shooting, no one has come forward to identify the shooters. As of today, no arrests have been made in the case, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The Boston Police Department continues to ask for the public's help for any information that might lead to an arrest and bring justice to Paula Jacobs and her family.
