At approximately 05:56 hours on Sunday January 1, 2023, officers assigned to District B-3 responded to a call for a person shot in the area of 1601 Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan. According to radio traffic, the 911 caller stated that someone entered a home at that location, proceeded to begin shooting and then fled on foot. As officers responded, they began receiving multiple other 911 calls for a person shot to the leg.
On arrival, officers located an adult male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds inside of the location at 1601 Blue Hill Ave. Officers quickly began to render aid to the victim who they relayed to operations as being shot to the neck. As they cared for the victim, additional Officers began to attempt to secure the scene, a difficult task as party-goers began fleeing the area, even using the rooftop as a way to avoid the police.
Officers could be heard calling for a push on Boston EMS as they continued to try and save the victims life. EMTs and Paramedics arrived on scene however they soon determined that the male victim was non-viable and he was pronounced deceased on scene. The supervisor on scene then made full notifications, or “full notes”, indicating the need for the Homicide Unit, Crime Scene Response Unit, District Attorney’s Office and others to respond.
As Officers were attempting to hold witnesses for questioning, a loud and non-compliant crowd began to form and the decision was made to activate EDTs from Districts B-2, E-5, E-13, and E-18. Shortly after the first activation, City-Wide EDTs were activated as the crowd grew and became more violent and erratic with officers still struggling to contain the scene.
As officers continued to try and quell the large group they discovered a second person shot as well as a group of people who had locked themselves inside of a room within the crime scene. Calls for additional help continued to be broadcast with loud screaming and fighting being easily heard in the background. Roughly 10 minutes after the original call for the shooting was dispatched, Boston Police Operations went out on a city wide broadcast requesting, “City-Wide EDTs on a push” to the location for “multiple people shot with a large hostile crowd”.
A short time later, officers located a second adult male victim in the area suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The second victim was transported to a local area hospital for further treatment. Sources tell Live Boston he was taken to Boston Medical Center and is expected to survive. A third person was treated after he was located in an enclosed side alley after it is believed he fell or jumped out of a window or off the roof at the residence. It is unknown if he jumped during the shooting or if it was in an attempt to flee from Officers. His condition is unknown at this time.
As Police gained control over the scene, they began to identify and document everyone who was at the scene of the shooting, also noting the vehicles that were seen fleeing or parked at the location. Additionally numerous eye witnesses were also transported to Boston Police Headquarters for further questioning by Detectives from the Homicide Unit.
Boston tactical assets in “Gun Cars”, Boston SWAT’s roaming patrol vehicles, also responded to the scene. Radio traffic indicates that these officers were utilized to breach multiple locked doors with battering rams while sweeping the location for additional victims or suspects.
As Officers and Detectives began interviewing witnesses, they gained a suspect description of the alleged shooter or shooters. They were told by multiple eye-witnesses that there were two party goers who fled out the front door following the incident. Additionally they told officers that the shooting was a result of at least one of the suspects being kicked out of the house party at the location. One of the shooters was described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall wearing a gray hoodie with a white t-shirt and light blue jeans. Officers also located a black infiniti that was reported as a possible suspect vehicle.
Officers also received information that there also may have been an additional gun fight outside of the location and began to canvas the area for ballistic evidence as they continued to push back the agitated and potentially violent crowd. Additionally the MBTA bus route was rerouted as Blue Hill Ave was shut down as officers searched the area for additional evidence.
Per police radio traffic, at least one person was taken into custody in the area of the shooting however it is unclear if the male subject was taken into custody for the shooting or another incident.
Into the late morning, investigators could be seen canvassing the area, marking and photographing multiple pieces of evidence. The victim has not been identified by the Department as of this time, pending an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who took possession of the body from the scene after it was processed.
The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470.
Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to help this investigation in an anonymous manner.
