A man died in a drive-by shooting near a busy Dorchester street on a sunny Holy Saturday afternoon, in Boston’s second daylight homicide in two days, according to police.

The victim was shot in the head while sitting in a parked Ford Escape on Evans Street near its intersection with Morton Street shortly before 4 p.m., Commissioner William B. Evans told reporters at the scene.

The car where the victim sat appeared to have been targeted, Evans said. He did not identify the man but said he appeared to be in his late 30s.

Several people who said they knew the victim described him as a good man who had been in trouble with the law when he was younger but in recent years had become a devoted father.

Evans expressed horror at the “brazen’’ nature of the crime, particularly because it came just one day after the death on Good Friday of a 35-year-old man shot on Wayland Street in Dorchester, though Evans said the two killings did not appear to be connected.

“This stuff should not be happening, so if you did see something, please step up, because we need to get who is responsible for this,’’ Evans said.

Saturday’s killing is the 12th homicide in the city this year, he said later.

At the scene Saturday afternoon, yellow and red police tape criss-crossed Evans Street, where uniformed and plainclothes officers stood clustered in the center of the pavement. Police cruisers and a sport utility vehicle marked Crime Scene Response stood nearby.

A crowd had gathered to observe the police investigation. None of the people said they had seen the shooting or its immediate aftermath, despite its proximity to busy Morton Street.

A distraught woman who did not give her name was weeping and was comforted by several men and women gathered with her.

“I don’t know what happened. All I know is my boyfriend got killed,’’ she said. “He was a good guy, very protective of anyone he loved. . . . Loved by the neighborhood. Loved by everybody.’’

Chunsu King, 45, said the man killed was in his early 40s and had grown up with King in the neighborhood, spending his early years near the spot where his life would end.

“He wasn’t a perfect person, but he was a good father,’’ King said, explaining that the man had been trying to work with the state Department of Children and Families to regain custody of his son, who is about 10. “That’s all he talked about. . . . He didn’t want his son growing up being a victim of what he became a victim of.’’

King said the man had worked various odd jobs, including helping out his brother at the landscaping business the brother owned.

“He got in trouble like a lot of people do,’’ King said of his friend, “but he was a good guy. . . . He wasn’t a violent kid, so I don’t know why he’s dying a violent death.’’

King said he did not believe his friend could be the shooter’s intended target.

“They’re just shooting anybody for anything now,’’ he said. “He definitely wasn’t about any kind of violence.’’

Globe correspondent Josh Coe and Mike Bello of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.