Dorchester man charged in shooting

A 22-year-old Dorchester man is to be arraigned today, charged with shooting another man in the groin outside a neighborhood pizza shop yesterday afternoon.

Patrick Romain was arrested near the scene shortly after the 2:10 p.m. shooting, said witnesses and David Estrada, a police spokesman.

The victim, whom police would not identify, was taken to Boston Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening, Estrada said.

The victim was apparently shot in front of Morton's Sea Food and Pizza on Morton Street near Evans Street. Investigators marked off sections of the street and sidewalk with yellow police tape, placing evidence markers near a Red Sox hat, a gray T-shirt, a mountain bike, and a pair of eyeglasses.

People who work nearby said the shots sounded like firecrackers.

"I saw the boy who got shot," said Casondra Morgan, who owns the Pit Stop Barbeque, near the pizza shop.

"He was still standing, but his friend was holding him up," she said. "They took him inside the pizza shop before the ambulance came. The police were here instantly, within a minute or two."

Romain was charged with assault with intent to murder, carrying a loaded firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, Estrada said.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court.

Ryan Haggerty can be reached at rhaggerty@globe.com.