The teen arrested in connection with a deadly shooting Monday night in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood appeared in court Tuesday.
The incident unfolded at the Mildred Hailey Boston Housing Authority Apartments on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain around 9:30 p.m. Monday, police have said. Officers could be heard shouting "Shots fired" and "Man down!" in police radio audio.
Officers were patrolling the apartment complex when they heard multiple shots fired, officials said. Officers found a man who'd been shot, who was pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital; he has not been identified.
Edwin Vinales, a 19-year-old from Boston, was found carrying a gun and arrested on outstanding warrants and firearms violations, police said. They said he was seen running from the shooting scene and tossed a semi-automatic gun with an extended magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
As of right now, Vinales is not charged with the shooting itself.
"Officers did observe Mr. Vinales discard a firearm as he fled and did recover that firearm, leading to the charges before the court today," a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.
The crime scene stretched blocks away to Heath Street, where officers also roped off a crime scene. They said multiple weapons were found on scene.
"At this time we're dealing with a very large and active crime scene that spreads out through most of the development," Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Paul McLaughlin said Monday night.
Vinales pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Roxbury District Court Tuesday afternoon to charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a large capacity firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. He was ordered held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 30.
His attorney cautioned in court Tuesday against tying his client to the deadly shooting.
"They have to produce evidence with regard to that shooting," his lawyer said.
People who live nearby said it was shocking seeing how quickly how many officers descended on the neighborhood.
“We were up in the window and we just saw a ton of cop cars, like a SWAT team, not an ambulance, like an EMT guy like breaking down the door materials," one resident said. "I didn’t see any of that, but they definitely had a lot of people with a lot of stuff to take someone down.”
A memorial had been set up in the neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon for the man who died in the shooting.
