Update: Police say Medford shooting wasn't random

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Medford Police say the Boston Avenue shooting that has left a Medford man wounded was not random, and that the victim and the alleged assailant -- a 33-year-old Fitchburg man -- knew each other.

Damon Gentile, 33, pleaded not guilty in Somerville District Court to one charge of armed assault with the intent to murder, said Cara O'Brien, spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr.

Gentile is being held without bail pending a Friday dangerousness hearing, the Somerville District Court clerk's office said.

Medford Police Captain Kevin Faller said Gentile was arrested in Leominster after he was pulled over by local police, and he told them he knew the shooting victim. Faller did not comment on the nature of the relationship.

"We're trying to find out why he was in our city," Faller said.

Faller said Gentile was traveling with a passenger, but would not say if that person was arrested or charged in connection with the shooting. A call to the Leominster Police Department was not immediately returned Monday.

Witnesses and authorities say that police responded about 8 p.m. to 5A Boston Ave., near High Street in West Medford.

At least three shots rang out, neighbors said.

The victim, who has not been identified, was transported to an area hospital and is expected to survive, O'Brien said.

The circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation, said O'Brien.

John Swenson, who lives across the street from the shooting, said the victim was a man in his 20s living in the home's basement apartment.

"[Police] said he was hurt pretty badly," Swenson, 69, said in an interview.

Cecil Craig, who also lives on Boston Avenue across the street from the scene, said he was sitting in his living room watching television when he heard the loud pops.

"I was in the service, I know what gunshots are," said Craig, 84. "I thought they were going to hit the house. It's getting so that nobody's safe."