The family of a Elijah Ricardo Clunie, who was shot and killed at a Dorchester barbershop, allegedly by a man who’d just asked how long it would take to get a harcut, told NBC10 Boston about him as the accused gunman faced a judge.
Boston police have arrested a man in connection with a deadly shooting at a Dorchester barbershop last month.
Diamond Jose Brito, 32, of Canton, was arrested Thursday night in Mattapan by the Boston Police Fugitive Unit and members of the Massachusetts State Police and U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, police said. He was wanted on several warrants out of Dorchester District Court for the murder of 20-year-old Elijah Ricardo Clunie, of Dorchester.
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Brito was held without bail at his arraignment Friday morning and ordered not to have any contact with the surviving victim and witnesses. He is due back in court on Nov. 5.
Clunie's family is still grappling with the pain. They attended the arraignment on Friday.
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“That little coward that took his life? It’s because he was a coward," Clunie's mother told NBC10 Boston. “He’s alive and his mother doesn’t have to feel my pain. I’m glad."
"No family should have to feel this pain," his uncle added.
"This is the start of a long journey towards justice," Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said afterward. "These incidents, cases like this, they can tear at the very heart of neighborhoods and rip at the very fabric of our communities. Senseless gun violence like this just can't be allowed to stand and continue."
He called the shooting "deplorable and heartless," and said he's happy to be able to pursue justice for Clunie's family.
The arrest is related to a daytime shooting on Sept. 2 inside a barbershop on Washington Street in Dorchester. Police responded to a report of two people shot, and when they arrived they found two adult male victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
Both men were taken to area hospitals with life-threatening injuries, and one of them -- Clunie -- died at the hospital. The second victim's name has not been released, and police said he is expected to survive.
"He was a good kid," Clunie's grandfather, Renier Thompson, said in the aftermath of the shooting. "Skinny, wasn't threatening. If you look at him, you wouldn't be scared of him... Looked like a baby in the face."
Police had said previously that they did not believe the shooting was a random incident.
Boston police are continuing to investigate the shooting, and urge anyone with information to call them at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can be called in to the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or submitted by texting the word "TIP" to 27463.
