Two men were gravely injured in a shooting overnight in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, and two suspects are facing charges in connection to the shooting following a subsequent car chase, police said.
According to Boston police, officers responded to a report of a person shot in the area of Beach and Hudson streets around 2:35 a.m. and found two men with life-threatening injuries.
The victims were taken to local hospitals in critical condition, police said.
While canvassing the area, officers located a vehicle matching a possible description of the suspect vehicle in the area of Atlantic Avenue and Kneeland Street.
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Police kept the car in their site and called for backup to conduct a traffic stop. According to police, as responding officers approached the intersection, the suspect vehicle sped away, refusing to stop for them.
The vehicle allegedly ran several red lights as it continued to flee from officers, and both Boston officers and Massachusetts State Police troopers responded to the ongoing pursuit.
While fleeing over the North Washington Street Bridge into Charlestown, police say the driver lost control of the vehicle at the Sullivan Square rotary and it came to a stop in the grassy area inside the traffic circle where it flipped on its side.
According to police, officers gave several commands to the occupants of the vehicle to get out of the car. Three individuals inside were safely removed by officers and taken into custody. Police say while conducting a search, they found a gun and ammunition inside the vehicle.
All three men were taken to a local hospital due to injuries they sustained in the crash.
Two of the men -- identified as Ven Bunton and Alexio Carmello-Marquez -- are facing charges in connection to the shooting and car chase. The third occupant of the vehicle was not charged, police said.
Bunton, 23, of Lowell, Massachusetts, 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, 24, of Tampa, Florida, is also facing several charges, including 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 are expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court. It was not immediately clear if they had obtained attorneys.
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Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, who visited the scene of the shooting in Chinatown early Sunday, praised Boston police officers for tracking and apprehending the suspects in what he termed 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 in a statement. "We’ll continue to prosecute the people who use guns and the people who supply them."
Police have not released a motive in the double shooting but suspect some kind of disturbance preceded it, Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long said.
A joint investigation by the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is active and ongoing.
The shooting in the early morning hours of Easter is just the latest incident in a string of gun violent in Boston. Last week, one man was killed and another was seriously hurt near Walnut Park in Roxbury. On Tuesday, two people were shot in South Boston. On Monday, one man was killed after a shooting near Orchard Park in Roxbury. Last Sunday, a teenager was shot in Charlestown, and two Fridays ago, a shooting at a gas station in Roslindale left one man dead and another hurt.
According to Boston police, the number of shootings is not higher than this time last year, but many feel the violence is escalating and they're worried of what that means for this summer.
