From BPD News:
At about 6:04 PM, on Tuesday, June 24th, 2024, Boston Police Officers and Massachusetts State Troopers assigned to the Youth Violence Strike Force were on a directed patrol of the 200-Block of Bowdoin St. in Dorchester when they were flagged down at 237 Bowdoin St. by a person who informed them that a possible shooting had occurred. Simultaneously, Officers heard what they believed to be rapid shots being fired from a machine gun. Officers exited their vehicles to investigate the premises.
While Officers were investigating, they could smell gunshot residue lingering in the air and located multiple spent shell casings in the middle of the roadway. Officers notified radio operations of what had occurred and secured the crime scene while attempting to locate victims, witnesses, and suspects.
As Officers were establishing a crime scene, additional 911 calls and witnesses provided Officers with a description of a possible suspect and the exact direction he was fleeing towards. With this new information, Officers expanded their search and located a possible suspect at 16 Olney St.
Upon seeing Officers, the suspect immediately fled into the rear of 16 Olney St, scaled a fence, and began running towards Bowdoin St. and Topliff St. Officers began a foot pursuit and apprehended the suspect on Bowdoin St. Officers recovered a firearm that had fallen onto the ground from the suspects waistband when they were placing him in custody.
District C-11 Detectives responded and the firearm was determined to be a black Glock 23 .40 Caliber with an extended magazine capable of holding twenty-two rounds of ammunition. A Syr-switch which converts a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic machine gun was also attached to the firearm.
John Rodrigues Cavarlho, 20, of Dorchester, was arrested and is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court for the charges of Carrying a Firearm Without a License, Possession of a Machine Gun, Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device, and Trespassing.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.