http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/08-97/08-17-97/a01lo002.htm Shooting victim laid to rest By David Rising, Standard-Times staff writer  NEW BEDFORD -- Mourners packed Our Lady of Assumption Church yesterday for the funeral of a young South End man, shot to death a week earlier. Friends and family of Filipe Alino Barros, the 18-year-old who was killed in the shooting Aug. 9, formed a long funeral procession led by a boy holding a large cross, followed by the casket draped in the flag of Cape Verde. Some men and women wiped their eyes, while others wept openly. More than 300 people filled the church to capacity, lining the walls and crowding the rear of the building after the pews were taken. The Mass began with several hymns and two readings from the Old Testament. When Father Paulino Pina began the homily in Crioulo, some people hugged one another and cried, while others sat in stoic silence. Most of the mourners wore black dresses or suits, but one girl wore a white T-shirt with "RIP FIL & MAC TOGETHER AGAIN" lettered across the back, in reference to Filipe's best friend Michael Barros, whom he accidentally shot and killed four months ago. Several people delivered short speeches about Filipe Barros, and others sang songs in memory of the deceased. After the service, a violinist and two guitarists playing traditional music led a procession out of the church. Outside, people reflected on the service and the untimely death of the young man. "The family is taking it OK, they're grouping together," said Augusto Anado, a friend of Filipe Barros' mother. "The whole thing was nice but sad," said one of Filipe's cousins, a girl who did not want to give her name. Fifteen-year-old Carlos Dosouto sat on the steps of a building across from the church watching the crowds leave. He was not at the service, but said he knew Filipe from the neighborhood and was paying his respects in his own way. "He was a nice person -- we'll all miss him," he said. The long line of cars carrying the mourners snaked through New Bedford's downtown, past the Barros family home and by a makeshift shrine set up outside the Luso Assembly of God Church where the young man had been shot. The motorcade ended at St. John's Cemetery: the final resting place of Filipe Alino Barros. Photo by Mike Couto Julia Pires, mother of Filipe Barros, is overcome with grief after the young man's funeral yesterday at Our Lady of Assumption Church in New Bedford. The 18-year-old was shot to death one week earlier in the South End. |