At least seven people have been injured in a shooting during a Caribbean parade in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, police said on Saturday.
The victims were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries and several arrests were made and firearms recovered, according to Boston police Sgt Det John Boyle.
The shootings occurred during the J’ouvert parade, which is part of the city’s Caribbean carnival. Police said emergency calls started to come in at approximately 7.45am reporting gunfire on Talbot Avenue close to the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club.
Boston’s NewsCenter 5 spotted a Boys & Girls Club van in the area that appeared to have its front driver’s side window shot out. The van was also tagged with spray paint, the outlet said.
“Today’s mass shooting highlights the gun violence crisis we are facing. This is a public health & public safety emergency,” tweeted the Boston city council president, Ed Flynn.
“Boston police continue to confiscate and recover guns at an alarming rate and now is the time to come together and develop a gun violence strategy in Boston.”
The Boston city councilor Erin Murphy said in a statement: “This is an event for children, on a Saturday morning, and it’s appalling that bad actors would visit violence and evil on it.”
The shooting occurred at the start of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Boston Caribbean Carnival parade, with the city mayor, Michelle Wu, scheduled to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The annual celebrations have been marred by violence in previous years, reported the Boston Globe.
Dawnn Jaffier, 26, was shot in the head and killed in 2014 when she was caught in a gang crossfire. In 2015, a man was killed in a shooting before the J’ouvert celebration. Last year, a man was shot and injured after the parade.
The carnival, which includes a steelpan competition, a masquerade ball, entertainers, vendors, a junior carnival and a king and queen competition, often draws thousands of people, according to its website.
“This should be a time of celebration for everyone coming together … and lifting one another up,” Rev Miniard Culpepper told the Globe.
“Boston is now making the big time for shootings,” he added. “We need big time solutions.”
