An 18 year-old man died last night after he was gunned down on the porch of his mother's house near Uphams Corner. Neighbors say that the victim is Luis Tavares, who grew up in Cape Verde and joined his family here as a teenager.

Isaura Mendes, an anti-violence activists who herself has lost two sons to murder in the last 15 years, lives next door to last night's crime scene. She said a van was seen speeding away from the street right after the shots rang out around 10:30 p.m.

"It was bullet after bullet," said Mendes, who described a chaotic scene. "We all came out."

Boston Police have not made any arrests yet in the murder, which is Boston's fifth of 2011.

Mendes said that the killing shattered the relative peace that had been a welcome hallmark of the year to date in her neighborhood, which has been the scene of multiple murders in previous years.

"This year we were very happy here and in Dorchester," Mendes said. "This neighborhood hadn't lost anyone."

The victim's family had not shared in that good fortune, however. Mendes said that Tavares had just lost a brother in a car accident in Cape Verde last week. She last saw the 18 year-old, who'd quit school to help his family make ends meet by working at a local fast food restaurant, inside the house next door.

"He gave me a big hug. He was so sad because he'd lost his only brother," she said. "And now he's gone."