A Sunday morning brawl in Allston that led to the stabbing death of a 24-year-old West Roxbury man was the latest in a string of incidents on a street corner loaded with revelers after bars close.
Gregory Phillips died after he was stabbed once in the heart during an altercation at the intersection of Brighton and Harvard avenues around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, police said.
While concerned for their patrons, area business owners did not seem surprised.
“We don’t have any problems here but there are always problems over there,” said Rudy, manager of Redneck’s BBQ, pointing across the street at the site of the brawl, in front of a convenience store and steps from several bars.
The two groups involved in Sunday’s fight were at The Kells on Brighton Avenue at some point but had left before the dispute occurred, according to prosecutors. A local bar owner, who asked not to be identified, said he could recall at least three brawls in the last month on the same corner.
Police reported multiple arrests and injuries, including one stab victim, in a fight there Sept. 6, and two people were stabbed outside Avenue Bar just a block away the following week.
Also, a fight at The Kells on Oct. 18 led to one arrest for an assault with a dangerous weapon.
“It sucks for this neighborhood,” said the bar owner, who acknowledged that fights do happen but the nature of them is changing. “The whole stabbing thing is new.”
