Boston

Dorchester Man Charged in Connection With Fourth of July Weekend Shooting

Investigators stopped Jason Meeks in a car that was seen leaving the area of Greenville Street with blood and bloody handprints covering the driver’s side door and window

NBC10 Boston

A Dorchester man with prior gun convictions is being charged in connection with one of the numerous shootings in Boston over the Fourth of July weekend.

Jason Meeks, 41, was ordered to be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on July 11. He is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm, fourth offense.

Meeks spent 15 years in prison for a prior manslaughter conviction, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden's office. He also has previous firearm convictions. 

Boston police responded to multiple reports of shots fired from late Sunday night into the early morning hours of Boston. People who live in the neighborhoods affected by this kind of gun violence say it's not just the government that needs to step up.

A man was seriously injured in the shooting on Greenville Street just before 11 p.m. Sunday. He was listed in serious, but stable condition at the time.

Investigators stopped Meeks in a car that was seen leaving the area with blood and bloody handprints covering the driver’s side door and window. Meeks initially refused to stop, then pulled over and got out of the car, police said.

Meeks was bleeding "profusely," police said, from the left side of his face. Officers found a Smith & Wesson gun, also covered in blood, in the front passenger side of the car. A magazine matching the weapon was discovered at the scene of the Greenville Street shooting.

Meeks was arrested and taken to Boston Medical Center. He was arraigned in his hospital bed Tuesday, officials said.

Boston EMS confirms they took seven people to the hospital in five separate shootings.

At least 11 people were hurt in a series of violent incidents across Boston over the weekend. The investigations into the Greenville Street shooting and the other Independence Day weekend shootings are ongoing, according to Hayden's office.

“The volume of gunfire we saw in Boston this past weekend should terrify every corner of society. We were extremely lucky to see no loss of life," Hayden said in a statement. "But we can’t count on luck as we move through the long, hot nights of summer. We have too many guns in the hands of people too willing to use them, and any effective response requires across-the-board societal involvement."

Experts will tell you that gun violence typically rises as the weather turns warm, and holiday weekends are a particular concern. What happened in Boston overnight certainly validates that concern.

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