Yesterday was the first night of Hanukkah. Ahead of attending two local menorah lightings, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a statement acknowledging Sunday's tragedy at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where two gunmen opened fire at a seaside Hanukkah event, killing at least 15 people and injuring over 40. "To Jewish families in Massachusetts and around the world: you are not alone in your grief or fear," Healey said. "We will continue to stand with you and be clear that antisemitism and violence have no place here. And we will not let this darkness dim the light of Hanukkah.” Officials in Australia are also praising a bystander who was captured on video sneaking up on one of the gunmen and disarming him. The mass shooting in Sydney was one of two major instances of gun violence over the weekend. Closer to home, police are still searching for the person who carried out a deadly shooting Saturday at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island: The latest: Police say the gunman remains at large, after releasing a "person of interest" who was initially detained Sunday. "We have a murderer out there," Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said at a news conference late last night. The shooting killed two students and injured nine others at the Ivy League school. Neronha said there was "some degree of evidence" that pointed to the individual who was arrested Sunday at a Rhode Island hotel 20 miles outside of Providence, but that new evidence had moved the case "in a different direction." - What happened: The shooting occurred around 4 p.m. at the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building in an economics class, as students were taking their final exams, according to Brown University President Christina Paxson. The shooter fired more than 40 rounds from a handgun, according to the Associated Press. Joseph Oduro, a 21-year-old teaching assistant, told CNN that students were just wrapping up a review session in a large lecture hall when the shooting began. He and 20 students hid behind his desk. "There wasn't much space but we made do because at the end of the day we wanted to survive," Oduro said.
- What we know about the shooter: Police have not identified any other known suspect. Officials said the shooter fled on foot, and described him as a man dressed in black. They also released a short video of a person believed to be the shooter walking away from the scene, but it does not show their face. Police are working with nearby businesses to find additional footage of the suspect.
- On campus: Brown announced Sunday that it would cancel almost all remaining in-person exams for the fall semester. University Provost Francis Doyle said it would allow the university to "focus our efforts on providing care and support to the members of our community as we grapple with the sorrow, fear and anxiety that is impacting all of us right now."
In other news: Preaching to the converted: Boston is keeping its office-to-apartment conversion program going for another year. The initiative offers a 75% property tax break for three decades to developers who turn vacant downtown office space into new residential housing. The offer was set to expire at the end of this month, but city officials say the program has been more successful than expected, so they're planning to extend the application period until Dec. 31, 2027. - By the numbers: Since the program launched in October 2023, the city says it has received 22 applications to convert office space across 27 buildings into 1,517 new apartments and condos, including 284 income-restricted units. A total of 251 units have at least started construction, and at least 15 already have tenants.
- What's next: Mayor Michelle Wu's planning chief, Kairos Shen, said they hope to attract another "another thousand units" via the one-year extension "and continue to catalyze a more vibrant, residential community in our Downtown."
Seeking shelter: The city of Worcester is opening a winter shelter for people experiencing homelessness in a former hotel today. The temporary shelter, which used to be a Quality Inn & Suites, has 36 beds and will stay open through April. - Tania DiDuca, the chief of staff of the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, the nonprofit helping to run the temporary shelter, said Worcester's two other shelters are at capacity with about 150 people. No ID or paperwork is required to stay the night. "There is really no criteria to access the shelter services except for needing a place to stay for the evening," DiDuca told WBUR's John Bender.
P.S.— CitySpace is hosting one of our favorite holiday traditions tonight. Join us at 7 p.m. for our annual reading of "A Christmas Carol" with some of WBUR's most recognizable voices. Attendees will enjoy hot cocoa and cookies during this event to benefit Rosie's Place. |
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