3 Dorchester schools briefly locked down as police searched for gunman

By Globe Staff

Three public schools went briefly into lockdown this morning in Dorchester as police searched for a gunman who fired several errant shots at a car, police said.

The gunman opened fire just before 9 a.m. near the intersection of Columbia Road and Geneva Avenue. No one was struck by a bullet, but it appears that the shooting caused one vehicle to crash into another. Police blocked off the area as they search for the gunman.

The driver of a Honda, in an apparent attempt to elude the gunfire, backed into a Toyota. As the shots rang out, the occupants of the Honda got out of the vehicle and fled in different directions, according to police.

Elaine Driscoll, police spokeswoman, said it is too early to determine if the shooting was targeted. No suspects have been arrested.

The three schools -- Jeremiah E. Burke High School on Washington Street; Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School on Columbia Road; and the John P. Holland Elementary School on Olney Street -- remained in what officials described as "safe mode" until about 10:30 a.m.

"No one [was] allowed in or out of the building, but learning [continued] as normal," said Matthew Wilder, spokesman for Boston Public Schools. "The students probably [weren’t] even aware of it."