Police seal neighborhood after gunfire

A Roxbury neighborhood was blocked off for several hours yesterday while dozens of police, some carrying assault weapons and large body shields, coaxed four suspects from the basement of a three- decker following gunfire in the morning.

The lockdown of the area disrupted the activities of numerous residents. During four tense hours, police closed all streets in a 2-square-mile area. Swaths of yellow tape formed a tight perimeter around the house on Langdon Street, and police cruisers and large box trucks, used to transport the department's entry team, idled in the middle of several streets.

Police received a call about shots fired at 9:43 a.m. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the incident said it unfolded at the home of a Cape Verdean gang associate who has been shot at recently. Yesterday's incident began, the official said, when someone at the house fired multiple rounds at a passing car. Police surrounded the house after receiving calls about gunfire and the possibility that a gunman was inside the house.

The commotion sent some residents to their porches, but police ordered them inside. Curious onlookers were told to keep moving, and residents returning home were repeatedly denied access.

Eileen Finch, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 17 years, said her son had just walked out of the house on his way to school when the gunfire erupted. "This is ridiculous," she said, shaking her head.

By midafternoon, police had led four men out of the house. Jovanni Barbosa, 20, Jason Barbosa, 18, Ilton Correia, 23, all of Roxbury, and Alexander Cardoso, 21, of Quincy were arrested and charged with breaking and entering. The suspects are set to be arraigned today in Roxbury District Court.

Clarimundo DaSilva, who lives at the Langdon Street address, said the four men were invited to his house by his son, John. "They had nothing to do with the shooting," DaSilva said. He offered a different account of what happened, saying that his son was being pursued by several men in a car and that gunfire erupted outside moments after he and his son sought cover in their living room.

Police said an initial search of the house did not turn up weapons. They were seeking a search warrant for a more thorough sweep last night.

The incident also disrupted activities at a nearby school and auto repair shop. Chris Horan, spokesman for the Boston public schools, said the Community Academy, an alternative high school of about 100 students, followed security protocol and barred anyone from entering or leaving until police declared the incident over. He said a normal school day continued during the security alert.

During the lockdown of the neighborhood, mechanics at C And J Auto Repair kept working, said mechanic Jimmy Rosada. "There are cops everywhere," he said in a telephone interview. He said that customers could not reach the shop and that police were delivering auto parts so repair work could continue.

John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report.