Violence dips in Boston in rainy June

BOSTON, July 3 (UPI) -- An unusually wet June may have helped cut down on bloodshed on the streets of Boston, officials said.

The city recorded only one fatal shooting in the month, The Boston Globe reported Friday. There were only 15 shootings in all, down 60 percent from June 2008.

"We'll take it every time,'' Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis told the newspaper. "When the weather turns bad, and people are inside, there's less violence."

This year, rain fell in Boston on 22 days in June. In 2008, there were only eight rainy days, 38 shootings and three deaths.

The drop in violence this June is especially significant because the spring was a bloody one in Boston, with a total of 110 shootings by May 31, up from 80 last year. Street violence tends to increase in the summer.

Another factor contributing to the drop in violence may have been a meeting at the beginning of the month involving police, community leaders and gang members, the newspaper said.