Stabbed teenager believed innocent
victim of gang beef
By Brian Ballou and Kevin Rothstein
Thursday, April 29, 2004
A Dorchester teen who
chose sports over gangs was the victim of a vicious stabbing Tuesday that may
have been motivated by a beef between two rival groups in his neighborhood.
Juan Shanks, 14, said his
teen assailant, who was nabbed by police Wednesday afternoon, was bent on killing
him because the suspect thought he was a gangbanger. Shanks made those remarks
to family members and friends Wednesday as he lay in Boston Medical Center recovering
from three stab wounds - two to the abdomen and one to the neck.
``Juan told me the kid was actually trying to kill him,'' said the Rev. Eugene F. Rivers III, a community activist who talked with Shanks hours after the attack. ``Juan said that if he wouldn't have run, he would have been murdered,'' Rivers said. After being stabbed at 1475 Dorchester Ave., Shanks ran to the nearby Fields Corner MBTA station, where a police officer came to his aid.
The victim's cousin, Angelique Shanks, said Juan, or J.R. as he is commonly known, has always steered clear of gang and criminal activity and has instead involved himself with Amateur Athletic Union basketball.
Both of Shanks' parents died before he was a year old and he has been raised by his grandmother, Barbara Goosby.
Shanks, removing his oxygen mask to recount the incident, said he was minding his business and walking with friends from the Grover Cleveland Middle School to the Ella J. Baker House in Dorchester when another teen stepped into his path and asked him ``Are you down with the Crown Boys?''
Shanks replied that he didn't belong to any gang and continued walking along Dorchester Avenue, but then the assailant pulled out a shiny knife.
Shanks said he initially thought the shiny object was a gun and turned to run, but the suspect grabbed him and pushed the knife into his stomach.
Shanks and the suspect, whose name was withheld by police because he's a juvenile, attended the same school, but sources said the suspect had been absent for at least the past three weeks.
Fearing more violence, nearly 10 police officers kept watch on students yesterday as they streamed out of the Fields Corner school. One student said a gang beef between Crown Path kids at Four Corners and Geneva Avenue youths was behind the stabbing.