CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - Two people are in custody after one person was injured in a “moving gun battle” between two vehicles in Cambridge on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
Officers responding to the area of Chestnut and Sidney streets about 2:30 p.m. found a man suffering from a gunshot wound and learned that one of the vehicles involved in the shooting had fled the scene, according to the Cambridge Police Department.
The victim, 23-year-old Joekeem Nelson of Cambridge, suffered injuries that are believed to be non-life-threatening.
He was taken to a local hospital and charged with armed assault to murder, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for police.
A passenger with Nelson, 20-year-old Ladjuan Guichard of Roslindale, was charged with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and carrying a firearm without a license, police say.
The victim has not been charged at this time, according to police.
An off-duty officer witnessed the brazen daylight gunfight and radioed it in, Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville Bard said. The battle then continued as police chased the vehicles through Central Square.
“An off-duty Cambridge police officer who was on his way to work witnessed the moving gun battle,” he said.
A witness says he saw one vehicle speeding away in reverse following the shooting.
“It was the fastest I’ve ever seen a car go in reverse without losing control. He was either fleeing the shooting or potentially had something to do with it because what you saw wasn’t normal on the wrong side of the road in reverse at 40 or better miles per hour,” one man said. “My immediate concern was he was going to crash into me or somebody else. And then I saw all the police activity and knew something bad happened.”
Police are working to track down one of the vehicles, which they described as a dark-colored sedan.
Officers stopped the other vehicle in the area of Land Boulevard and Binney Street, where they arrested two suspects, one of whom suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the head, police said.
A firearm was said to be recovered near Memorial Drive and 12 bullet casings were found scattered on the ground in the neighborhood.
One parked car was struck by a gunshot and another was damaged by one of the suspect vehicles during the chase.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Cambridge Police Department at 617-349-3300.
Units are currently investigating a reported gunshots incident in the area of Chestnut and Sidney Street #CambMA. A vehicle reportedly fled the area following the incident. 2 suspects are in custody in the area of Land Blvd and Binney Street. A firearm has been recovered.
— Cambridge Police Department (@CambridgePolice) November 29, 2018
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