3 injured in gangs' cross fire, police say

A 68-year-old widow getting air on her front porch and two of her neighbors were wounded by gunfire late Saturday in Roxbury when they were caught in an ongoing dispute between two rival gangs, police said yesterday.

The victims, who included a 35-year-old man and his 36-year-old sister, were not the intended targets, and no one was seriously injured in the shooting, police said.

The police commissioner lamented the brashness of the shooting, which rattled the Orchard Park neighborhood, where there's a history of gang violence.

The 68-year-old victim, Joyce Gomes, said she was sitting outside her apartment when she saw two people running around the corner shooting at something she could not see ahead of them. She rushed into her apartment and noticed a stinging sensation in her right thigh. "I looked down, and I knew I got shot," she said.

Gomes, a diabetic and grandmother, said she called her 49-year-old daughter, who lives nearby, for help. Gomes, who has lived in Roxbury for more than 30 years, said she has never been a victim of crime. "I'm still angry. I don't think that should happen to me. I don't bother anyone, I'm a peaceful person."

Gomes's daughter, Jacqueline Young, said last night that she was still in shock about what happened to her mother. "You can't even sit on your front stoop without being in danger."

Another victim, Dwight Bobbitt, who turned 35 yesterday, said he has a bullet lodged in his right arm. He said his 36-year-old sister, whom he did not identify, was also shot, but he had not spoken to her since the shooting.

The siblings were outside talking to their mother on a neighboring porch when the gunmen came by. "They just walked up and started shooting," he said, adding that it was a blessing it was not worse.

Commissioner Edward F. Davis said he was alarmed by the randomness of the shooting on Dubois Street. The vic tims were outside about 11:20 p.m. when the shots rang out. "What's troubling about this is the indiscriminate nature of the gunfire," he said. "It's unacceptable."

Davis said the circumstances of the shooting were unclear, but he said detectives were searching for two suspects who fired in the direction of the house.

They appear to be members of one of two rival gangs that have been responsible for increased shootings in the Orchard Park area, he said.

Davis urged those who know the suspects to call police with information and said investigators are searching for witnesses.

"There is very little information," he said. "Because we have very little evidence to go on at this time, we're asking for help from the public."

As of Sept. 3, police reported 191 nonfatal shootings this year compared with 244 during the same period last year.

Davis said recently that many anonymous tips about drug activity and homicides have been made to the department's cellphone, text, and hot lines.

Last Wednesday, an anonymous caller told police about two guns found near the Mattahunt School in Mattapan.

Police later found a shotgun and a rifle that had been hidden beneath a blue blanket.

"We're encouraged by what's happened recently, and we're hoping that someone will be courageous enough to stand up and tell us exactly what happened here," Davis said.

Globe Correspondent Sean M. Greene contributed to this report. Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com; Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com.