BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston police are searching for the suspect accused of shooting a young girl and a man in a Dorchester park on the Fourth of July.
Officers responding to the area of Dudley and Folsom streets just before 11 p.m. found an 8-year-old girl shot in the foot and a 35-year-old man suffering from serious gunshot wounds, Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross said.
Both victims were taken to the hospital, where the girl is expected to recover and the man remains in critical condition.
“It’s not acceptable for an 8-year-old to be injured in this way,” Gross said. “As far as we can tell everyone was enjoying the Fourth of July in the Mary Hannon Park as they should be.”
Officers were in the area responding to a number of fireworks calls and were able to respond to the shooting quickly.
Neighbors say they couldn’t tell the difference between fireworks going off and the gunshots but they knew something was wrong.
“All I’ve seen is a bunch of kids, they was running. Everybody was grabbing their kids,” said Janyi Samuels Hall, who witnessed the shooting. “It happened like so fast. Everyone was having a good time.”
Detectives are gathering tips to track down the suspected shooter.
“We’re going to have to pull together and make sure things like this don’t happen in our neighborhoods,” Gross said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Boston police.
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