BOSTON — Police in Boston on Wednesday released new images of a suspect who they say is wanted in connection with a weekend shooting near Dorchester’s Caribbean Carnival Festival that left eight people wounded.
Photos shared by the Boston Police Department appeared to show the suspect opening fire in the area of 10 Talbot Avenue just before 7:45 a.m. on Saturday. He is seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants with white stripes, and white sneakers.
Police said the suspect is wanted on charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
Six men and two women were shot, according to Boston police. Four people were also arrested and a number of firearms were recovered.
Edwin Sumpter of the New Democracy Coalition believes the weekend gun violence should be a wake up call to the community.
“We are pleased this is an ongoing investigation. And we have to hope they get these young men off the streets,” Sumpter said. “This was a scarring mark on the whole city. You’re talking about ten, eleven, people shot at what should have been a very beautiful day for the community, 50 years of the Caribbean Parade and it’s going to be marked by what happened that day.”
While the shooting happened near the Caribbean Carnival Festival, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said in a weekend news conference that the incident wasn’t related to the cultural event.
In a police report, law enforcement officials said that officers who were monitoring the area on Talbot Avenue moments before the mass shooting feared “an immediate threat to the general public” as rival gangs stared each other down.
“I can’t get in the minds of people who perpetrate crimes in general. The fact is we had a visible presence, we were there, and they still did it. That is something different,” Commissioner Cox said.
Sumpter tells Boston 25 News if community members can help identify this suspect, they might also help get dangerous guns off the streets.
“We’re at the point now where you can honestly say that in the City of Boston, we have a gun emergency as well. A violence emergency, there’s far too many murders in one part of the city, but this gun issue really has to be taken serious,” said Sumpter.
On Monday, Cox denounced the violence, calling on parents to do more to prevent such incidents.
“We are not babysitters, we are not built for that. We enforce laws. We need other people to parent their children,” Cox said.
Anyone who recognizes the suspect is urged to contact Boston detectives at 617-343-4712.
Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME.
An investigation remains ongoing.
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