Armed Robbery of Children's Lemonade Stand in Boston Under Investigation

Boston police responded at approximately 4:45 p.m. Wednesday to a report of an armed robbery at a children's lemonade stand on West 9th Street in South Boston, where siblings David, 12, and Juliette, 11, were operating the stand. Two juvenile suspects had made multiple passes by the stand before approaching and asking whether Apple Pay was accepted; before the children could respond, one suspect grabbed the cash box containing approximately $50 while the other lifted his shirt to display a black firearm tucked in his waistband. The suspects then fled on foot; a nearby neighbor spotted them with the pink cash box and confronted them, but the suspects dropped the box, took the cash, and fled again. Boston Police Department released blurry surveillance footage and still images showing the two masked suspects walking near the scene, with green detection boxes highlighting them, and asked the public for help identifying them. The children's mother, Jennifer Byrne, said her daughter called her at work in hysterics, and the family described both children as traumatized by the experience. City Councilor Ed Flynn, who represents South Boston, condemned the robbery and challenged Mayor Michelle Wu's characterization of Boston as the country's safest major city, while neighbors organized a community lemonade stand reopening for Friday evening, with 50 percent of proceeds to benefit a local gun violence prevention organization.