Man shot in Roxbury; police apprehend suspect after chase into Milton

By Billy Baker, Maria Cramer and Colin A. Young, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

A man in his 20s was shot shortly after noon today in Boston’s Roxbury section. Police pursued a vehicle into neighboring Milton after the shooting, where they captured one suspect.

Boston police said the man was shot in the stomach at 122 Dewitt Drive, near Ruggles Street at 12:23 p.m. The victim was sent to Boston Medical Center in serious condition.

Police chased a vehicle believed to be involved in the shooting into Milton shortly before 1 p.m.

The chase came to an end at about 1:30 p.m. when the suspect, who was driving a Chevrolet Cruze, attempted to make a high-speed turn onto Route 28 South from Reedsdale Road. Witnesses said the vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane and became stuck when trying to squeeze between a dump truck and the curb.

Witnesses say the suspect tried to gun the car out of the jam, but as police approached he opened the door and took off on foot, running behind a Tedeschi Food Shop and then into the back yards of houses on Reedsdale Road, where, they said, he was apprehended.

Carmen Zanghi, 42, of Canton, who was driving the Lambert’s Garden Center dump truck, said he pulled the truck into the suspect’s vehicle to pin him until police could arrive.

“I thought he was just an idiot kid and he was going to take off, but when I saw his eyes, I knew,” Zhengi said. “You could just tell he was scared to death. His eyes were just wide white.”

He described the suspect as a black male in his early 20s.

Joe McCarthy of Brockton, who was just pulling into the Tedeschi parking lot when the crash happened, said he saw the suspect carrying something white in his hand when he fled, but did not see any weapon.

At the Roxbury shooting scene, an employee at the Madison Park Village management office said the victim ran into the office for help, and employees there called police.

Neighborhood resident Beverly Lara, who has lived in the area for 11 years, said, “You know summer is around the corner because that’s when the shootings start happening. Kids aren’t playing basketball. They’re shooting each other.”

Colin A. Young can be reached at colin.young@globe.com.