Police: Chinatown shooting leaves two with life-threatening injuries, suspects arrested after chase

BOSTON — Two people were arrested after a shooting in Chinatown early Sunday.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired in the area of Beach and Hudson Streets around 2:35 a.m. They found two men with life-threatening injuries, who were taken to area hospitals.

A car believed to be linked to the shooting was seen at Atlantic Avenue and Kneeland Street. When officers tried to pull it over, it accelerated and refused to stop, police said. The car went through several red lights and crossed the North Washington Street Bridge into Charlestown, according to police.

The driver lost control at the Sullivan Square rotary, and the car flipped on its side in the grass inside the traffic circle, according to police.

Three people were pulled from the car and arrested. Two of them, identified as 23-year-old Ven Bunton, of Lowell, and 24-year-old Alexio Carmello-Marquez, of Tampa, Fla., will face charges. The third person was not charged.

All three were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A gun was also recovered, according to Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long.

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden, who visited the scene early Sunday, praised Boston police officers for handling a “potentially deadly situation from beginning to end.”

“Once again we have bullets flying on a Boston street, victims clinging to life, and police acting fast to apprehend individuals who not only had guns but had just demonstrated no hesitation to use them,” Hayden said. “We’ll continue to prosecute the people who use guns and the people who supply them.”

Bunton will be charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, two counts of Assault and Battery with Intent to Murder, two counts of Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, Failure to Stop for Police, Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle, and Operating a Motor Vehicle without a License.

Carmello-Marquez will be charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, and Fugitive from Justice.

Bunton and Carmello Marquez will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Tuesday.

DOUBLE-SHOOTING: @bostonpolice investigating after two men in their early 30s were shot in Chinatown around 2:30 AM. Both being treated for life-threatening injuries.

3 suspects arrested after crashing car in Charlestown@boston25 pic.twitter.com/7ozraLRG4q
— Julianne Lima (@JulianneLimaTV) April 17, 2022