Boston parade shooting: Police say ‘multiple victims shot’ in Dorchester – CNN

At least seven people were injured Saturday morning in a shooting that halted a Boston parade, police said.

The victims were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Two arrests were made and multiple firearms recovered, police said.

Boston Police Sgt. Det. John Boyle earlier said the shooting occurred during the J’ouvert Parade, which is part of the city’s Caribbean Carnival. Police Commissioner Michael Cox later clarified it happened on the outskirts of the event. The parade was halted because of the shooting, which was unrelated, Cox said.

“It’s always heart wrenching to hear that a treasured community event has been disrupted by acts of violence from those who had nothing to do with the event,” Mayor Michelle Wu told reporters.

“And there’s no absolutely no excuse for something that is open to the community and part of Boston’s culture and heritage to be talked about in this way because of the acts that were introduced.”

Police said emergency calls started to come in around 7.45 a.m. regarding a shooting at the corner of Blue Hill Avenue and Talbot Avenue in Dorchester.

Cox said the shooting potentially involved “two groups having some type of altercation.”

“As a result of officers responding very quickly to the scene they were able to run towards not only the gunfire but actually apply tourniquets and help to all the victims of the gunshots,” Cox said.

Police have asked anyone with video evidence or those witnessed the shooting to contact police with details.

The city’s annual Caribbean Carnival was expected to take place with two separate parades on Saturday in the area, according to a local traffic advisory.

The daylong carnival, which dates to 1973, usually draws thousands of people for a cultural celebration that includes a steelpan competition and a masquerade ball, according to its website.

SOURCE: CNN