Jihad Watters, a 25-year-old African-American man, was killed on May 20, 2010, in what was a brazen daylight shooting in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. A father who had been confined to a wheelchair following a previous shooting two years prior, Watters was on the front porch of a home on Washington Street, preparing to light a grill for his mother's birthday celebration. The attack occurred at approximately 4:30 p.m., a time when the streets would have been busy, yet the perpetrator managed to carry out the act and flee the scene.
Watters was struck in the back of the head, an indication that he likely never saw his attacker. His mother had spoken to him on the phone just moments before he was killed. By the time she was ready to join him, she received another call informing her of the tragic news. Watters was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The brazen nature of the murder, targeting a man in a wheelchair who was simply trying to celebrate a family occasion, sent shockwaves through the community and left his family devastated.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Boston police began their investigation, searching for leads and appealing to the public for information. Investigators believed there may have been a single shooter who was aided by an accomplice driving a scooter. The theory suggested that the accomplice dropped the shooter off near the scene, allowing for a quick getaway after the murder. Despite these early leads and the public nature of the crime, the investigation has been hampered by a lack of forthcoming witnesses.
To date, no arrests have been made in the killing of Jihad Watters, and the case remains an open and active investigation for the Boston Police Department's homicide unit. His family continues to plead for justice, remembering him as a young man who, despite a criminal past, was attempting to turn his life around by enrolling in classes at Bunker Hill Community College. The community has been repeatedly urged to break the silence and come forward with any information that might lead to the apprehension of those responsible for his death. Authorities have emphasized that tips can be provided anonymously through their crime stoppers hotline.
