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The Boston Massacre happened when five civilians (people who were not in the military) were shot and killed by 9 British soldiers on March 5, 1770. It was in Boston, Massachusetts, which was a British colony at the time. The event happened at night when a large mob got together outside of the Custom House. One British soldier named Hugh White had hit a boy who had insulted his commanding officer. The boy ran away and came back with a large mob of angry people. More British soldiers came to help protect Hugh White from the people. The mob threw snowballs with clams inside them and hit them with wooden clubs. As the mob got larger and larger the scene became more and more chaotic. Someone in the crowd yelled "fire". In the confusion, some of the soldiers fired into the crowd. Crispus Attucks, an African-American man, was one of the first people killed.