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Friday, March 29, 2024

Two suspects have been arrested in connection to a May 13 gunfire incident: 15-year-old boys from Boston and West Roxbury. “It’s the second significant set of arrests by the Cambridge Police Department after two separate shootings occurred in back-to-back days last Sunday morning and Monday evening,” said Jeremy Warnick, director of communications and media relations for Cambridge police.

Separately, at approximately 2:05 a.m. Tuesday, possible gunshots were reported at Columbia Street and Bishop Allen Drive, in The Port neighborhood. Officers eventually found ballistic evidence and a broken window at Bishop Allen Drive and School Street, Warnick said. It was the third gunfire incident this week – fourth if you count an incident in Agassiz that turned out to be blanks. 

The basis for Tuesday’s arrests was a May 13 incident at Pearl and Green streets, in Cambridgeport near Central Square, when police responded to reports of gunshots at around 5:54 p.m. Two shell casings were recovered on Pearl Street and another on Massachusetts Avenue, police said, but no known victims or injuries were reported. A group of young men were reportedly seen fleeing, police said, and a canvass of the area found one on Green Street. He was taken into the station for questioning.

Police from Cambridge, Boston and Northeastern departments also looked over surveillance images from area businesses with local law enforcement partners, allowing them to identify the two groups of teens who’d gathered before the shooting. 

Arrest warrants were secured and the two 15-year-old males from Boston and West Roxbury were taken into custody early Tuesday at their homes.

The 15-year-old Boston resident will face multiple charges, including armed assault to murder, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, possession of a firearm in felony, and possession of firearm without an FID card. The 15-year-old West Roxbury resident charges include carrying a firearm without a license and accessory after the fact. they are expected to be arraigned Tuesday at Middlesex County Juvenile Court.

“This was a brazen act, and we were fortunate that nobody was injured. This type of behavior is not acceptable in our community and, as we have demonstrated, we won’t rest until we identify who is responsible for these troubling acts,” said Cambridge police commissioner Branville G. Bard Jr.

The earlier arrest Warnick referred to was from a May 12 incident in Harvard Square. Four days later, three suspects were arrested, all from Somerville: David Pleitez, 18; Joao Bonicenha, 19; and a 16-year-old.