Three shootings hours apart in the cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Belmont, Massachusetts, "mark the most significant surge in gun violence" in Middlesex County in three years, District Attorney Marian Ryan said Wednesday, announcing that her office was investigating what happened.
More than 50 rounds were fired in the three shootings on Monday and early Tuesday, leaving a father wounded in Belmont in the evening, Ryan said, describing the incidents as "brazen, dangerous conduct."
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"We have committed substantial resources over the past several years to address every instance of gun violence in this county through prosecution, prevention and legislative action. These shootings mark the most significant surge in gun violence here since 2022. The fact that over 50 shots were fired in very densely populated areas, some in the middle of the afternoon, is the type of brazen, dangerous conduct for which those responsible must be held accountable," Ryan said in a statement.
Asked if investigators believe the shootings are connected, a spokeswoman for Ryan told NBC10 Boston only that the investigation into the three shootings remained ongoing.
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The first shooting took place about 2:15 p.m. near the intersection of Bishop Allen Drive and Columbia Street, by Lafayette Square, prosecutors said. Investigators believe it began as a verbal altercation between two strangers that escalated, with someone in a mask shooting at the other person.
No one was hurt, and Cambridge police have arrested two youths believed to be involved — one was in court on weapons possession charges, another for allegedly throwing something at an officer and damaging a room where he was being interviewed by police in Cambridge, prosecutors said.
About seven hours later, a person and his son were shot at by someone in a vehicle that sped off outside an apartment complex on Clark Lane in Belmont, prosecutors said. The father was hit in the leg; Belmont police have said he drove himself to a hospital in Cambridge, and that they didn't believe the shooting was random.
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Then, after midnight in Somerville, a shooting took place near the Clarendon Towers apartment complex on Broadway, leaving 47 shells scattered outside, according to prosecutors. Investigators believe a man may have been targeted — he was outside the complex when a vehicle pulled up, people got out and shot toward him.
Anyone with information about what happened in any or all of the shootings was urged to contact Middlesex County-based detectives with the Massachusetts State Police at 781-897-6600.
