Police investigate shooting scene at Caribbean festival in Boston
Boston police responded to reports of multiple people shot Saturday morning at a Caribbean festival in Dorchester. (Credit: WFXT)
Multiple victims were injured after gunfire erupted in a Boston neighborhood on Saturday morning, police said.
At around 7:44 a.m., the Boston Police Department received a call about an active shooting incident at Blue Hill Avenue and Talbot Avenue, Officer Michael Torigian said.
"Seven victims have been shot and transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries," said Torigian. "Firearms have been recovered and arrests made."
The scene is still active, and an investigation is ongoing.
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Boston police responded to reports of a shooting at a Caribbean festival Saturday morning on Aug. 26, 2023. (WFXT)
A Caribbean American festival was scheduled to take place today nearby at Franklin Park. Last year, one person was killed, and several more were injured during the J'ouvert and Carnival Parade.
Boston City Council President Ed Flynn said, "Today’s mass shooting highlights the gun violence crisis we are facing."
"This is a public health & public safety emergency. [Boston police] continue to confiscate and recover guns at an alarming rate and now is the time to come together & develop a gun violence strategy in Boston," he posted on X.
There is a history of violent incidents that have taken place around Caribbean festivals in Boston and Cambridge, according to the Boston Herald.
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Police stand on Blue Hill Ave. near Franklin Park, where Boston's annual Caribbean festival takes place. (WFXT)
On Aug. 24, 2019, two men exchanged gunfire in front of officers at Boston's J'ouvert Parade. Police arrested Michael Warner, 34, of Hyde Park and Atunbi Bryan, 27, of Brockton in Dorcehster in connection to the shooting. Police Commissioner William G. Gross said the violence stemmed from parties before and after the event adan was unrelated to the Caribbean Carnvial Parade, which started about five hours after the J'ouvert Parade, the Herald reported. Cambridge authorities said they feared the incident would lead to retaliatory violence at that city's Caribbean parade the following week.
In 2017, two men were shot with non-life threatening injuries at the Cambridge Caribbean Carnival.
On Aug. 23, 2014, 26-year-old Dawnn Jaffier was shot in the head when she was caught in the crossfire between two rivals with gang affiliations at the J'ouvert Parade in Boston. In December 2017, Keith Williams, 21, and Wesson Colas, 25, were convicted of her murder.
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People fled the scene when shots rang out Saturday morning, injuring seven. (WFXT)
In 2010, three parade watchers were shot, one fatally, in connection with the Boston Caribbean Carnival.
In 2008, a man police believed to be a carnival attendee was found stabbed to death in a Dorchester park.
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In 2007, four people were stabbed as they attended festival activities.
On Aug. 25, 2001, Darryl Greene, 28, and Branden Morris, 24, were accused of fatally shooting Terrell Gethers at Boston's annual Caribbean Carnival, the Herald reported. They were indicted on first-degree murder charges by a Suffolk grand jury in June 2006.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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