Boston

8-Year-Old Girl Shot at Boston Park Was Suspected Gunman's Daughter, Prosecutors Say

The shooting happened at Mary Hannon Playground after a Fourth of July celebration

Two men charged in connection with a Fourth of July shooting at a Boston park were allegedly targeting a 35-year-old man, but the young daughter of one of the suspects was injured by gunfire, prosecutors allege. 

Ian King, 28, and Nathas Jacquecine, 31 — whom the documents identified as brothers from Boston — faced a judge Monday in connection with the shooting, which left the third man critically injured. Prosecutors said Jacquecine's 8-year-old daughter was inadvertently hit during the incident. 

Surveillance video shows the two men walking into Mary Hannon Playground in Dorchester and opening fire at the third man, according to the prosecution. Jacquecine then allegedly fired on the man while he was on the ground. 

The child's mother identified the two men as the shooters and said they are brothers when she was showed the surveillance video, prosecutors said.

King and Jacquecine pleaded not guilty, their attorneys arguing that video was taken from a long distance and that both are family men with stable jobs — one at the Department of Youth Services and a certified yoga teacher, the other an accountant.

The judge set bail at $30,000 a piece for King and Jacquecine. 

The incident, which cut short Fourth of July celebrations, raised alarms about violence in Boston. 

"An innocent 8-year-old girl most certainly has the right to celebrate the 4th of July and play with friends without the fear of hurt, harm or injury," Boston Police Department Commissioner William Gross said in a statement.

The suspects were arrested on charges that include assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and discharging a firearm near a home.

Contact Us