YOUR TURN: Local Reactions to Dartmouth St. Shooting

Jon Sennett was bartending at Clerys on Tuesday night when he heard roaring sirens and saw flashing lights outside the bar.

“I’ve never seen so many police cars in this area,” he said. Police swarmed the corner of Dartmouth Street and Columbus Ave. after an officer shot and killed a man who pulled out a gun and began to flee - refusing to put down the weapon - during a traffic stop around 5:54 p.m., police said.

The man, who friends have identified as 26-year-old Burrell Ramsey, ran down Dartmouth Street towards Columbus Street, police said. Two officers pursued him and one of them fired a shot, which hit him in the chest, killing him. He was later declared dead at Boston Medical Center. 

People in the area are surprised, but not scared, Sennett said.

“It’s definitely an isolated incident,” he said. “I don’t think people are afraid to walk the streets at night.”

Customers in the bar Tuesday were concerned by the activity being so close to Back Bay Station and along a main artery of the city during rush hour, but they were more curious than anything, Sennett said.

“To have so much police presence is an anomaly,” he said. “People just wanted to know what’s going on.”

A few doors down at B.Good, manager Hunter Woodsworth said he heard people talking about the shooting when he went to work this morning: security guards at the Dartmouth Street Garage when he parked his car; employees at the sandwich shop; people on the street.

“They’re a little shocked about it,” he said. In his seven years working there, he said there’s never been a shooting in the area.

Sennett, too, said this is the first shooting in 11 years.

Across the street at City Convenience on 130 Dartmouth, store manager Mohammad Alam said he nobody has said anything about the incident, but business has been slow.

Perhaps people are a little hesitant after all.

“It’s kind of quiet today,” he said. “Maybe people are afraid.”

What do you think about the shooting in the area? Are you concerned for your safety? Did the police react correctly based on the information we have so far? Voice your opinions in the comments section.