Toddler is run over by her mother's SUV

Boston Street was closed at around 10:30 last night after a 16-inch water main burst, causing a large spill that shut down most of the Andrew Square area, according to a spokesman from the Water and Sewer Commission. The street, which had a “good-sized sinkhole,’’ will be closed until about noon today, deputy communications director Thomas Bagley said. The pipe broke between Andrew Square and Washburn Street, he said. Water and Sewer workers early this morning were repairing the break, which flooded four homes on Dorchester Avenue. The cause is under investigation, Bagley said.

Police and emergency medical services responded to call about an unidentified male who was shot twice in Dorchester at about 7:30 p.m., according to Officer Joe Zanoli, Boston police spokesman. The victim was shot on Geneva Avenue, a witness told police. The victim was moved to the second floor of a building before officers arrived, Zanoli said. The witness also told police that the shooter was a male wearing a black hoodie, a red T-shirt, and blue jeans and that he fled on Park Street. The victim underwent surgery last night at Boston Medical Center, and his condition was unknown, Zanoli said.

The University of Michigan, Harvard University, and two other universities are launching a $50 million Army-funded study to find out why soldiers kill themselves or become mentally ill. Columbia University and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., are also part of the consortium conducting the five-year study. The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research said yesterday that the study is the largest to date of suicide and mental health in the military. Study coleader Steven Heeringa at Michigan said the goal is to find out risk and protection factors for suicide and mental illness. (AP)

Freetown police say a man asking for $25 to find loving homes for dogs whose owners can no longer afford them may instead be abandoning the animals in wooded areas of town. Dog Officer David Frates told The Herald News of Fall River that 12 dogs have been abandoned in town in the last nine days, most in Freetown State Forest. He says residents have told him about a Fall River man who approaches people in a local bar and offers to find a home for their dogs for $25. Jean Fox, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said the suspect is taking advantage of people making difficult decisions in challenging economic times. She called the scheme immoral and deplorable. She said abandoned dogs can form packs and threaten people and other animals. (AP)

Thirty rescuers from Maine and New Hampshire carried a Massachusetts hiker with a head injury about 3 miles down a rugged backcountry trail. Rescuers say William Tarkulich, 53, of Lexington was on a day hike with friends when he slipped, fell over backward, and hit his head on a rock. He was brought out of the woods Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at the Notch Trail head and taken to a hospital, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported. The notch is a narrow gully littered with boulders through which the trail passes. (AP)