A crowdfunding campaign is nearly two-thirds of the way to its goal for a memorial to Xavier Bautista, who was killed on the Fourth of July, and support for his girlfriend and their child.
“We want to give Xavier the beautiful, dignified memorial that he truly deserves, and to wrap our arms around his girlfriend and beautiful 5-year-old son. We want to ensure they are supported as they try to process this tragedy without the added, crushing stress of financial burden,” said Casey Torres Angeles, creator of the campaign.
A service for Bautista is expected to be held Sunday, according to the campaign page.
The campaign goal is $26,000, and 230 community members had contributed $16,053 toward that as of late Tuesday.
Bautista, a Cambridge resident and a Public Works employee, was shot at 4:30 a.m. Saturday at Broadway and Norfolk Street in The Port neighborhood, police and district attorney Marian Ryan said. The body lay there until a 911 call alerted police at 5:26 a.m., police said. Scanner reports show first responders were on the scene just one minute later, but Bautista was dead when they arrived, and he was declared so at 5:33 a.m.
The death brings “unimaginable grief and shock,” Angeles said on the campaign page.
“To say we are devastated is an understatement. Xavier was only 32 years old, with so much more life ahead of them. Anyone who knew him remembers Xavi for his playfulness, his huge smile and his unconditional love for his family and friends. You couldn’t be serious around Xavier. He brought so much joy into our lives, and the world is a dimmer place without him in it,” Angeles said.
A community meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday to talk about the shooting.
Even before that, and an expected political debate on whether Bautista’s life might have been saved with a dismantled technology called ShotSpotter, public officials and organizations have made statements about the shooting.
City manager Yi-An Huang and mayor Sumbul Siddiqui revealed Bautista’s death in a public letter Saturday saying the city was heartbroken to lose Bautista, a valued colleague who was beloved by his family and friends.
“There are no words that can take away the pain and anger that the Bautista family must be feeling following the murder of Xavier. Gun violence is not something that only happens elsewhere. It happens here in Cambridge, and it is not acceptable in any community,” city councillor Marc McGovern said.
The Black Response organization posted a statement in part because it played a role in shutting down ShotSpotter, leaders said. They extended “our deepest condolences to the family, loved ones, friends and community of Xavier Bautista.”
“We grieve the loss of a life to gun violence, and we recognize that behind every public discussion of violence is a family experiencing an immeasurable and deeply personal loss,” The Black Response said. “From a Black radical tradition, we understand grief not as separate from politics, but as a demand that we confront the conditions that make preventable death possible. We mourn with those who loved Xavier, and we extend our solidarity to everyone carrying the pain of his death.”
The crowdfunding campaign is here.
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