Violent weekend of SHOOTING and Death in LYNN, MA - Near Boston

Violence crisscrossed Lynn, MA during the weekend in a spasm of gunplay and a stabbing that spanned nine hours, punctuated by a fatal shooting outside City Hall.

The spate included the killing of a 43-year-old Lynn man and the arrest of a 15-year-old suspected gang member on a gun possession charge. The violence left many residents questioning their safety and prompted police to challenge witnesses to be more forthcoming.

"The city of Lynn does not accept this level of violence as the norm and certainly does not tolerate it," Lynn Police Captain Mark O'Toole said in a telephone interview.

O'Toole did not have statistics on hand, but Lynn has for years been plagued by shootings and other violence, and law enforcement officials and residents have clamored for additional police officers, he said.

Last month, the city added a new four-officer unit to assist the existing gang unit, and the police department has been getting additional help from federal authorities such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

O'Toole urged the community to be more vigilant in reporting crimes. "We need more witness cooperation. If witness cooperation isn't there, it feeds into the willingness and motivation of criminals to commit these acts of violence."

Police identified the shooting victim as Rafael Andino, who was shot in the head about 1 a.m. yesterday. Andino got out of a vehicle at a City Hall parking lot and went over to another vehicle where a passenger had called out to him, police said. As Andino approached the vehicle, with four males inside, one of the passengers opened fire, striking Andino once. The vehicle sped away, westbound on Johnson Street, police said.

In addition to Andino's killing, four other people were shot and another person was stabbed during the weekend, police said.

The first shooting occurred about 8 p.m. Saturday, at 64 Broad St., where witnesses said an argument broke out at a backyard party and spread to the front of the house, where a fight ensued. Arthur Pena, 41, of Boston, and Steven Reth, 24, of Lynn were shot in their legs. A short distance away, police found another man, Dora Dahn, 22, of Lynn, suffering from a stab wound to his back.

The victims either refused to cooperate or provided limited information, police said.

O'Toole said the incident appeared to be gang related.

Shortly after the stabbing, officers from the Lynn Police Department's gang unit arrested a 15-year-old Lynn youth for delinquency by reason of illegally carrying a firearm. The teen, who is believed to be a member of the Bloods gang, was arrested after a foot chase near 40A Neptune St. after he allegedly discarded a firearm, police said. Police were trying to determine if the arrest was connected to the shooting on Broad Street.
O'Toole said the city has for years dealt with the problem of illegal guns on its streets and has supported several measures to stem the number of weapons in circulation, including launching a gun court and pushing for tougher legislation.

more stories like thisNearly three hours after the Broad Street shooting, at 10:50 p.m., Carlos R. Pichardo, 33, of Lynn, was shot in the leg while standing outside 25 Johnson St. The shots were apparently fired from the area of Lloyd Street, a nearby cross street, police said.

The next call police received was for the shooting outside City Hall. Then, about 4:51 a.m., police responded to a report of gunfire near Eastern Avenue and Clark Street, but they found no victims. A short time later, they were dispatched to an address nearby, 40 Lambert St., where they found Paul L. Harrison, 33, of Lynn, suffering from six gunshot wounds to his lower torso and legs.

By late afternoon yesterday, no arrests had been made in either of the shootings or stabbing. Police said they received little cooperation from witnesses or the victims.

Across the street from City Hall, several people living in a four-story building said they were awakened by the commotion of ambulances and police vehicles shortly after 1 a.m. yesterday.

"Here in Lynn, it's always off and on like this. You'll have a time when nothing happens, and then all of a sudden there are a lot of shootings," said Franklin Blake, 70, a resident for 12 years, as he walked past City Hall yesterday on his way home from church. "That's why I stay at home," he said.

Cristino Acosta, owner and manager of Canon's Place, a barbershop on the first floor of the four-story building, said as he opened his business yesterday that several residents told him what had happened. Soon many of his customers were discussing the rash of shootings.

"Of course I'm worried, whenever something like that happens so close, it makes you think. People in my barbershop are always commenting about the violence in Lynn, and a lot of people are sick and tired of it. I don't feel comfortable."

O'Toole said there was no preliminary evidence to suggest that any of the weekend's attacks were related.

The violence followed an attack on May 24 in which three males were hit by a spray of bullets at a basketball park near the intersection of Warren and Commercial streets. The three sustained serious injuries.