Boston man guilty of shooting at car while driving with his two kids

A 31-year-old Boston man accused of shooting at another car in August 2021 while driving with two children has been found guilty, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow announced Tuesday afternoon.

The incident occurred around near Pemberton Street and Middlesex Street in Cambridge, where police initially responded to multiple calls for gunshots while multiple people were outside their homes.

After locating a “a vehicle with obvious signs of ballistic damage,” reviewing surveillance footage, and interviewing witnesses, police found that Che Meranda, who fled the after the incident, had exchanged gunshots with a man later identified as Maurice Morris near the intersection of Rindge Avenue and Clifton Place. Officials say that Meranda had his two children in the vehicle.

“This type of gun violence cannot be tolerated in our communities,” District Attorney Ryan said in a press release. “It is difficult to assess which is worse, that Mr. Meranda fired multiple rounds while his vehicle was traveling through a densely populated area during a time when many people were outside or that he was engaged in a gun battle while his two small children were in the car. While incredibly, no one was struck, the risk that was created is staggering.”

“To truly address this type of gun violence we must aggressively address it through both enforcement and meaningful change to strengthen our gun laws,” Ryan added.

Last week a Middlesex Superior Court jury found Meranda guilty of two counts of assault with intent to kill, assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of carrying a firearm and carrying a firearm while loaded, possession of ammunition, two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

Morris, whose case is scheduled for Oct. 23, has been charged with carrying a loaded firearm without a license, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of ammunition without an FID card, armed assault to murder, assault and battery with a firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

The Middlesex District Attorney along with Middlesex Rep. Marjorie C. Decker proposed a bill in 2021 that would create felony charges for incidents like this, where people act “without regard for the risk of serious bodily injury to another.”