Suspect charged in playground shooting
A Dorchester man has been charged with shooting and paralyzing a 9-year-old girl at a playground, Boston police Commissioner William B. Evans said.
“I remember me and the mayor going to the hospital and speaking with the mother. It was very difficult,” he said.
“Obviously, I think the girl still suffers from paralysis from the waist down. It was good to get who was responsible for that act, and I want to thank our fugitive unit for tracking them down.”
Dominique Jerard Finch, 27, of Dorchester is charged with assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery by means of dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling and using a firearm in commission of a felony. He is due to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court tomorrow. “He is well-known to our officers, Evans said. “He’s been involved in previous acts of violence. It’s nice to get him off the streets.”
Evans said of crimes against children, “These ones are particularly troublesome. These ones we take real, real personally. No child should get shot in our city.”
The girl was in a playground about 1 a.m. on Oct. 9 on Annunciation Road, which runs behind Boston Police Headquarters, when gunfire erupted and she was hit. She was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital.
Evans said the investigation was stymied by uncooperative witnesses, which forced police to rely on technology to make the case against Finch.
“There was ballistic evidence, there was cameras, there was GPS,” he said. “The good thing about all that technology is it helps us in the investigation, even when we don’t get a lot of cooperation.”