By: E&P Staff A 21-year-old Emerson College journalism major died Thursday of a head injury after a clash between police and a crowd of Red Sox fans who took to the streets streets outside Fenway Park to celebrate their team's victory over the New York Yankees.
Victoria Snelgrove, the student, was shot in the eye by a projectile fired by an officer on crowd-control duty. The exact type of projectile was not immediately identified but the weapons are meant to be break upon impact.
Snelgrove transferred to Emerson from Fitchburg State College a year ago and was a junior majoring in broadcast journalism.
Her father, Rick Snelgrove, said his daughter did nothing wrong. Standing outside the family home, he held up a photograph of his smiling daughter.
"What happened to her should not happen to any American citizen going to any type of game, no matter what," he said. "She loved the Red Sox. She went in to celebrate with friends. She was a bystander. She was out of the way, but she still got shot. Awful things happen to good people. My daughter was an exceptional person."
During a news conference, Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said the agency "accepts full responsibility" for the death of Victoria Snelgrove. "The Boston Police Department is devastated by this tragedy. This terrible event should never have happened," O'Toole said.
"It appears from evidence we have reviewed thus far that Tori was killed when she was hit in the eye by a projectile fired as officers tried to control mobs outside the ballpark," O'Toole said. "Designated officers were equipped with less-lethal systems that use projectiles designed to break upon impact, dousing the target with (pepper-like) spray." O'Toole pledged to fully investigate the incident.
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