http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/08/14/news/news/news08.txt 

Large Cape Verdean family mourns loss of mother of three

By Elaine Allegrini, Enterprise staff writer

BROCKTON— Joao DeAndrade wiped tears from his eyes and tried to regain control of his emotions Monday as he spoke of his aunt, Rosa Andrade and the man police said shot and killed her Sunday afternoon as she returned from a weekend family camping trip.

“She knew how important my mother is to me,” said DeAndrade, 26. “And, now these three young kids don't have a mother.”

He was among extended members of the large Cape Verdean family who gathered at Maria Andrade's Gladstone Street home Monday, mourning the loss of Maria's sister, Rosa, 39, at the hands of Antonio Barbosa, an estranged boyfriend and father of her 4-year-old son, Ethan, according to authorities.

Barbosa, 36, is clinging to life at a Boston hospital after shooting himself in the head and falling to the ground near Andrade's lifeless body, witnesses and authorities said.

Among the close-knit Andrade family gathered Monday were Rosa's older children, 8-year-old Veronica and 12-year-old Joshua, with their father, Joao Jorge, who is raising them.

Rosa was the third oldest of nine siblings who came to the United States in 1990 from Cape Verde. The family remains close, often gathering at the Gladstone Street home where Rosa was headed Sunday afternoon when she was gunned down outside the Arthur Paquin Way apartment she called home for just one month.

Family members said Rosa feared Barbosa, who had threatened to kill her before. One of those threats led to an emergency restraining order in November, but it lapsed two days later when she did not attend a court hearing. Police said he did not have a license to carry a firearm.

They said she was comfortable in the new apartment, believing he did not know her location. But, now family members say he may have been following her.

“I was very shocked to find out that he had the presence to do something very devastating,” said DeAndrade, noting that he had recently placed Barbosa in a job at LeBaron Foundry.

Barbosa was well-known to the Andrade family.

Adelino Andrade, 33, said the family was aware of Barbosa's threats to harm his sister, “But we never thought ... ” the victim's distraught sibling said, unable to finish the sentence.

He joined other family members in describing Rosa as kind, happy and fun-loving.

“She was the life of the party,” said a niece, Lugenia Lopes. Rosa and one of her sisters worked at a Hanover business.

Back at Arthur Paquin Way Monday, Andrade's apartment was locked, the parking lot where she died quiet. The nearby basketball court was quiet. Three young girls played on a swing set at the community center.

Inside, Sandy Bowers, president of the tenants' association, said she and other residents never got a chance to know their newest neighbor.

But, many will remember the gunshots that rang out in the parking lot shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday. And, some will remember the bloody scene.

“When I think about it, I get the chills,” said Bowers, who on Monday was arranging support services for tenants and children who may have witnessed the violence or been in the area.

The shooting comes just three weeks after West Bridgewater High School star athlete Jose Gurley was shot and killed on Arthur Paquin Way.

While the shootings may cast a pall over the restored public housing complex known as Roosevelt Heights, Bowers said it is unfortunate because the alleged shooters are not residents.

“Overall, it's a safe place,” she said.

“It was a domestic violence issue,” added Richard Sergi, Brockton Housing Authority executive director. “It was done in broad daylight, it was done on a Sunday afternoon. It's the kind of issue that can happen any place, any time. It's very difficult to control the impulses of an isolated man when he's out to kill his girlfriend. Our job is to reassure everybody that it is isolated, that it's not a reflection on them, not a reflection on the community.”

On Monday, counselors from Brockton Family Community Resources were reaching out to assist anyone affected by the violence. And, Bowers was attempting to bring in clergy for additional outreach.

Elaine Allegrini can be reached at eallegrini@enterprisenews.com.