Boston Shooting Incidents Fell 16 Percent This Year, but Three Shootings Struck Five People Each, Police Data Shows

The number of shooting incidents in Boston fell 16 percent in the first 10 months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, but the number of people shot declined only 5 percent because more of this year's shootings struck several people at once, according to preliminary figures the Boston Police Department posted Monday.

The department's weekly crime overview, covering Jan. 1 through Nov. 1 of each year, counts 76 shooting incidents in 2026, down from 91 in 2025. Those incidents left 102 victims, compared with 107 a year earlier. Eighteen of the shootings were fatal in both years. Non-fatal shooting victims fell from 89 to 84.

Fewer shootings, more victims per shooting

The breakdown by incident type explains the gap between the two trends. Shootings with a single victim fell from 79 to 63, a 20 percent drop, according to the department's table. But the city recorded three shootings in 2026 that each struck five people, after none in the same period of 2025, along with one shooting that struck four people, after none last year. Double shootings fell from eight to seven, and triple shootings from four to two.

Compared with the five-year average, the department's figures show total shooting victims down 24 percent and incidents down 30 percent. The department notes that the shooting slide is updated manually Monday through Friday and may not reflect shootings in the previous 48 hours, and that the numbers are preliminary and subject to change.

Violent crime: flat overall, uneven by district

Citywide Part One violent crime was close to last year's level. The department counts 27 homicides through Nov. 1, compared with 28 in 2025, a figure it says includes three 2025 cases ruled homicides that year but that occurred earlier. Reported rapes and attempted rapes fell from 140 to 132, and robberies and attempted robberies from 664 to 621. Non-domestic aggravated assaults were essentially unchanged at 1,355, compared with 1,357. Domestic aggravated assaults rose slightly, from 778 to 786.

The district-level numbers move more. In District B-2, which covers Roxbury, domestic aggravated assaults rose from 116 to 161, the largest increase of any district in that category, according to the table. B-2 also recorded six homicides, compared with eight last year, and 111 robberies, up from 97. In District B-3, which covers Mattapan, homicides rose from six to 10 while domestic aggravated assaults fell from 226 to 178.

District C-11, which covers Dorchester, recorded 21 reported rapes and attempted rapes, up from 10. District D-4, which covers the South End, Back Bay and Fenway, recorded 11, down from 29. District D-14, covering Allston and Brighton, recorded no homicides after two last year, and its non-domestic aggravated assaults fell from 69 to 45.

Property crime down 3 percent, but not everywhere

Part One property crime fell 3 percent citywide, from 14,207 reported incidents to 13,816, according to the department. Commercial burglaries fell from 356 to 294, residential burglaries from 556 to 497, and thefts from motor vehicles from 1,764 to 1,503. Other larcenies were nearly flat at 7,547, compared with 7,503, and auto thefts were nearly flat at 1,054, compared with 1,061.

Two districts moved the other way. In District A-7, which covers East Boston, property crime rose 16 percent, from 486 incidents to 562, driven by other larcenies, which rose from 247 to 316, and auto thefts, which rose from 37 to 61. In District E-13, which covers Jamaica Plain, property crime rose 22 percent, from 712 to 869, with other larcenies up from 376 to 489. District D-14 recorded the largest drop, 16 percent, with residential burglaries falling from 99 to 41.

Two operations in Roxbury this week

The figures were posted the same day officers in District B-2 carried out two enforcement actions in Roxbury, according to department releases. On Monday, B-2 officers and Boston Housing Authority officers ran a targeted operation, called Operation Kickstand, aimed at motorcycles, scooters and mopeds. The department said the operation responded to ongoing concerns about how those vehicles are used and stored in Dorchester and Roxbury, and that it resulted in one arrest and the towing of 10 off-road vehicles for violations of the auto laws.

Also on Monday, at about 11:51 a.m., officers from the citywide Neighborhood Engagement Safety Team arrested a 38-year-old Brighton man near 112 Southampton St. on drug trafficking charges, the department said. According to the release, officers recovered bags that were later determined to hold about 28 grams of fentanyl and 18 grams of crack cocaine, along with packaging materials, two digital scales and $316 in cash, and found that the man had three active warrants. He was expected to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent.

What the numbers do and do not show

The department's tables count reported incidents and are labeled preliminary pending Uniform Crime Reporting coding. They do not show arrest or clearance rates, and a change in a single district over 10 months can reflect a small number of cases. The tables also do not explain why domestic assaults rose in B-2 or why larcenies rose in East Boston and Jamaica Plain.