A juvenile was shot in the leg in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Monday morning, the first of two shootings that occurred in the city within a half hour of each other and resulted in the high school going into a brief lockdown -- all while a film crew was shooting a movie nearby.
Chelsea police confirm they are investigating the separate shootings that resulted in one injury, four arrests and the recovery of three firearms.
In the first shooting, Chelsea police say a juvenile was shot in the leg on Fifth Street after an altercation with another youth, who's now in custody. The victim was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and is expected to survive.
Speaking in Spanish, a woman told NBC10 Boston that she saw the teens fighting -- followed by at least three gunshots.
When investigators arrived on scene, a film crew was shooting a movie nearby.
"Police came in, sort of rolled out caution, tape, and like pulled the guy out of the house. We were like right there, watching the whole thing happen," witness Mitch Severt said. "Ironically, yes, while we were shooting a movie, it did seem like a scene out of a movie. we could have absolutely rolled on it, but we decided not to because we didn't really know what was going on.”
The movie crew is in town shooting an independent film about addiction and recovery. They went back to work once the crime scene cleared.
"I actually wasn’t that scared because because I’ve worked in Chelsea before. I don’t want to paint a bad light. I love Chelsea. It’s a great place but these kinds of things do happen,” Severt said.
About a half hour after the first shooting, a second incident was reported with shots fired on the 50 block of Washington Avenue. Responding officers engaged three males involved, and all three were apprehended after brief foot pursuits, police said. Three guns were also recovered.
No injuries were reported.
As a precaution, though, police say Chelsea High School was briefly placed on lockdown while this all went down. That was lifted after police deemed the area safe.
One man tells NBC10 Boston that he still feels safe.
"All and all, it’s not bad,” he said.
Police are still trying to figure out if the shootings are connected. Both investigations are ongoing, and charges are pending, according to police. No word on what those charges might be.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Chelsea Police Department at 617-466-4805, or the anonymous tip line at 617-466-4880.
