July 5, 2023
A noisy, illegal fireworks display near Mattapan Square ended in gunshots and chaos on Wednesday morning, leaving five people wounded. The incident was centered around the intersection of Edgewater Drive and River Street, about one block away from Mattapan Square.
Police said they were called to the scene around 2 a.m. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
In a statement posted on Wednesday afternoon, Boston Police said: "Upon arrival, Officers located multiple victims suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. Boston EMS transported three of the victims to local hospitals and the other two victims self-transported to local hospitals.
"Officers observed a motor vehicle attempting to leave the scene and spoke with the occupants to ensure there were no injured victims in the motor vehicle. During that interaction and after further investigation, officers recovered a loaded firearm from the motor vehicle. The firearm was later determined to be a Lorcin L 380, with one round in the chamber and four rounds in the magazine."
The police report also said officers saw a third suspect "discard a firearm in the area" and placed that person into custody.
The three people arrested, according to BPD, were Hakeem Ramey, 29, of Brockton, Nashaly Seguinot, 25, of Boston, and Samuel Roman, 24, of Boston, all charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
During a public appearance at City Hall on Wednesday, Mayor Wu praised the response of first responders- both police and EMTs— for saving lives and making arrests.
"In this case, thank goodness, everyone survived and [is] recovering now from non-life threatening injuries. Anytime there is a firearm involved, the circumstances could easily have been far, far wore. We know these families will live with that trauma the rest of their lives as well."
She added: "It’s summer. We want everyone to come together and enjoy each other’s company, but it has to be safe for everyone in the community. We know there were multiple weapons taken off the street because of that incident. Our police officers are continuing to follow the leads in that investigation and I’m sure we’ll see accountability for those individuals involved."
Neighbors reported that the shooting incident was preceded by hours of fireworks set off as a large group of people congregated on the night of July Fourth along Edgewater Drive near a liquor store.
Neighbors who live in the immediate area say that the fireworks used before the shooting were very large in quantity and size.
“It was serious and it was professional grade stuff," said Fatima Ali-Salaam.
"I’ve lived in Mattapan 50 years at least and 23 years here (in the Edgewater Drive area) and I can say I’ve never in that time seen anything like what we saw happen here early this morning – ever. The frightening thing is this happens year after year, but at one point it was so loud it shook my house several blocks away. I can’t imagine what it was like for those living closer to it, or those who set them off."
Vivien Morris, who also lives within close proximity of the incident, visited the scene and was appalled.
"I shared this with the neighborhood and for everyone to be safe and to keep in mind going forward that these kinds of gatherings around illegal activities, like fireworks, is something we don’t want to continue going forward in our community," said Morris. "We’re going to definitely be on the lookout for these kinds of things…but we don’t want people to be afraid of in-person gathering and we want to make sure gatherings are done positively and safely."
Ali-Salaam, who leads the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council, said that the problem is not just a "summer thing."
"It’s a relationship building thing that we’re going to have to have to address...No street should have to talk about this and there is no good or bad streets. You’re a resident or a visitor on any street and you should be able to walk down a city street and not be afraid something is going to happen to you. The bottom line is no one should feel afraid."
Morris added: "We are worried as a community and want to make sure its clear that people understand fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts…In addition, what happened there was awful for people to hear about and that it took place in our community was heartbreaking."
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