Violence mars two holiday parties

Against the backdrop of Fourth of July fireworks, five people were shot in two separate attacks Monday night in Dorchester. Boston police said they faced a near-riot in one of the shootings as they arrested a suspect for firing a gun on a street crowded with more than 1,000 people.

The first shooting took place on Lyndhurst Street at about 10:30 p.m. when four people were shot. One of the four, a man, was struck in the head by a bullet allegedly fired by his friend, police and a resident said yesterday.

The shooting, police and a Lyndhurst Street resident said, marred an annual Independence Day barbecue and birthday party for Bernard Lynch, whose family has hosted the event for 11 years. The Lynch family declined to comment yesterday.

The party was winding down when three men, who apparently had not been invited, began lighting firecrackers on Lyndhurst Street, according to a neighbor, Hugh Morris. One of the men punched a Lynch family member who had asked them to stop, Morris said.

Bernard Lynch, 35, and his relatives went to help their relative and started fighting with the three men, Morris said. One of the unwanted guests left the fight and returned with a gun, Morris said. ''He came back, and he just started shooting," he said. ''I don't know if he knew who he was shooting at . . . there were a lot of kids and women out here."

Police said one man suffered a life-threatening head wound, and Morris said that man was among the unwanted guests. ''He got shot by his own friend," Morris said.

Police said the three other victims, whom they declined to identify, were expected to recover.

About an hour after the Lyndhurst Street violence, police rushed to Capen Street, near its intersection with Evans Street, where for years residents have hosted a Fourth of July fireworks display financed by donations from local residents.

According to police and residents, 29-year-old Terence McClanahan, walked down Evans Street and shot into a crowd of people, wounding 25-year-old David Core of Mattapan in his right calf. McClanahan then walked back up Evans Street toward Milton Street, firing into the air, and as police approached, he allegedly pushed the gun into his pants pocket, police and a resident said.

Police ordered him onto the ground at gunpoint, and as they tried to handcuff him, some in the crowd around the officers became hostile, police said. ''A large number of males and females had to be ordered at gunpoint to stand back away from the officers," police said in a report filed in Dorchester District Court.

In what relatives said was excessive force by police, a Roxbury woman was arrested on charges of inciting a riot when she allegedly refused police orders to stay away.

The woman, Tammy Gill, 23, allegedly fought with police, kicking one officer in the groin, according to court records. As Gill struggled with police, Jovany M. Eason, 16, stepped into the fray, according to police and the youth.

Eason, interviewed by the Globe with his mother's permission, said he saw Gill and two other people wrestling with police. ''I wanted to stop what the cops were doing," he said, adding that police wrestled him to the ground and put him in a headlock, and left him with a large welt on the right side of his face.

Eason said police sprayed Gill with a chemical, but a police spokesman, Michael McCarthy, said that ''at no time did arresting officers" spray Gill, who pleaded not guilty yesterday at Dorchester District Court and was released.

Eason's mother, Dessa M. Eason, said she planned to meet with the Boston police Internal Affairs Unit about the treatment of her son, who was arraigned in juvenile court on charges of assaulting a police officer.

''I understand that a situation like that, you have to control it," she said. ''But I don't believe it takes four or five cops to arrest a child."

The alleged shooter, McClanahan, was arraigned yesterday in Dorchester District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and other charges. Judge Sydney Hanlon set bail for McClanahan at $50,000 cash.

Along Capen Street yesterday, residents said they hoped that what they described as rare violence will not end the fireworks.

The display, begun decades ago, now brings as many as 1,500 people to the neighborhood, residents said.

''It's a nice, clean, family event," said Catherine M. Reed, a seven-year Capen Street resident. ''It will hurt me in my heart if we are not allowed to do this. We look forward to it every year."

John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.