Cops ask for info in South End shootings
Hub cops have identified a person of interest in connection with a shooting at a South End birthday party that left two women and a man hospitalized and are calling on witnesses to step up and help investigators track down those responsible.
“Right now, it looks like we do have a person of interest that we’re looking at as one of the possible shooters,” police Superintendent-in-Chief William G. Gross told the Herald yesterday.
Officers responding to a report of gunshots on Massachusetts Avenue just before midnight Monday said they found the women suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The male victim, who Gross said was hit with a largecaliber pistol, was found nearby on Northampton Street.
“The two ladies, they’re victims,” he said of the women, who appeared to have been hit by birdshot.
“The other person of interest, we’re checking that out,” Gross said. “It appears they were shooting at a group of individuals who had convened at a house party.”
A shotgun and a pistol were recovered on Northampton Street, he said.
A woman who identified herself as the daughter of one of the female victims said her mom was at her sister’s annual birthday bash when shots rang out.
Reggie Mumford, 46, who said he’s lived on the street for more than a decade, walked through the small crowd about 30 minutes before the shooting.
“They’re out there every year, celebrating a birthday,” he said, “celebrating the Fourth of July.”
Michelle Myler, 25, said she heard several “pops” but dismissed them as fireworks.
“It’s scary but at the same time I don’t feel unsafe in the neighborhood,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it was right next door.”
Gross urged anyone who may have been at the party or seen anything suspicious in the area at the time of the shooting to come forward and help authorities.
“We are all working together, we just want the neighborhoods to meet us halfway in identifying the individuals who are hell-bent on bringing violence to the neighborhood,” Gross said, adding, “If we work together, we can quell a lot of this violence.”