Mom of 3 killed in Dorchester was ‘innocent’ victim

The mother of three who was shot and killed late last night walking through a Dorchester park was an innocent victim caught “in a random act” of violence, according to relatives who stopped by the scene of the shooting today.

Neighbors told the Herald they heard a handful of gunshots at about 10:30 p.m.

One bullet struck Grisel Sanchez, 31, who was walking through Puddingstone Park at the corner of Seaver and Normandy streets, according to her older sister, Angelica Rivera.

Rivera said police told her “it was a random act. It wasn’t something that she was targeted. They were walking through the park. Random bullets and one bullet hit her.”

Sanchez had two sons, ages 11 and 14, and a 13-year-old daughter, Rivera said.

About 20 family members gathered at Puddingstone Park around noon, placing candles, flowers and pictures near a small spot where blood had stained the park’s grey gravel.

“She was a beautiful person, inside and out,” Rivera said of Sanchez, who was a personal care assistant. “She took good care of my grandmother, every day.”

Two bullets hit the home of Beatrice Cole, 64, flying into her living room. One sliced through a photograph of Cole, bounced off a ceiling fan and entered the opposite wall. Another entered near the corner of the room.

Residents of Seaver Street said the park is a rather constant source of trouble.

Sibyl Sampson, who lives down Seaver Street from the park, said the corner park has been the source of problems for years. “I lived here nine years, and it’s always that corner,” she said.

Edward Galloway, who said he had been a longtime Dorchester resident, said even you could find people drinking or doing drugs in the park, it should have been a safe place for people to walk through.

“A girl shot in this community park. This is not a war theater. This is not Iraq or Afghanistan,” said Galloway, 46.

Police spokeswoman Officer Rachel McGuire said cops received a report of a person shot at 10:30 p.m. outside an apartment house at 339 Seaver St. When they arrived, McGuire said they found the victim with a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.