BOSTON -- A Boston University graduate student was shot and killed early on Thursday in Allston, according to a BU spokesman.
A spokeswoman with the Boston Police Department adds that city officers responded to 139 Allston St. in Allston, Mass. around 2:30 a.m. this morning and saw a male victim on the street suffering from apparent trauma wounds to the head and leg. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crime scene was not on Boston University's campus, but was close to Boston's busy Commonwealth Avenue.
CBS Boston reports Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis offered few details about the investigation, but said homicide detectives are following solid leads reported from the community.
“It’s in an area that’s relatively crime free,” Davis said about the fatal shooting. “This happened on a street that there’s not a lot of activity on as far as crime is concerned.”
The shooting was Boston's fourth slaying this week.
University students were alerted to the shooting this morning through BU's notification system.
BU's information office reports that BU President Robert A. Brown says, “Our prayers go out to the family and friends of the student. We are all deeply saddened by his death.”
Brown also asked Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore to provide support to any member of the community who needs it, according to the news office's website.
“This appears to be an isolated incident,” says Brown. “I want to assure all students, whether they live on campus or off campus, that public safety is a priority for this institution.”
The release says the university is working with Boston police to increase patrols in the Allston neighborhood.
“It’s important that all students on or around the BU campus make their personal safety the highest priority,” says Elmore.