US Postal Worker Trapped in Middle of Quincy Street Shootout that Sent One to Hospital and Led to Two Arrests

At about 12:18 PM on Tuesday March 30th, 2021, officers assigned to District B-2 (Roxbury) responded to a detail officer’s call for shots fired and a ShotSpotter activation in the area of Quincy Street and Dacia Street in Dorchester.

While the shooting occurred a United States Postal working was delivering on her route, before she could drive away she was pinned down in the gunfire. Her truck was struck but luckily she avoided any major injuries. Luckily for her a Boston Police Officer was on a detail around the corner and on-sighted the incident, running towards the gunfire to her aid and directing responding units and providing updates on suspect descriptions.

Boston EMS evaluated the postal worker while officers secured the scene. They were able to locate at least 25 spent shell casings and observed ballistic damage to the windshield and roof of a U.S. Postal Service mail truck, prompting a response by the U.S. Postal Police to the scene.

While officers were working on the crime scene, a 17-year-old male presented himself at a local area hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening gunshot wound which is believed to have been sustained during the incident. The 17 year old juvenile was arrested later that evening at his mother’s residence, which was then frozen in addition to the vehicle he was transported in, pending a search warrant.

The 17-year-old male has since been arrested by District B-2 Detectives on charges of Aiding and Abetting and Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon stemming from this incident. Investigators also determined that a discarded court ordered GPS electronic monitoring device which had been recovered at the crime scene was registered to the juvenile male. The suspect will appear in Boston Juvenile Court.

Additional responding units assigned to the BPD Youth Violence Strike Force arrived on scene, and observed a male party, later identified as Dion Caruthers, 21, of Roxbury, matching one of the given suspect descriptions attempting to flee the area on foot. The officers were able to stop the suspect after a brief pursuit, at which time they performed a pat frisk – leading to the recovery of a loaded .25 caliber F.I.E. Titan handgun from inside his jacket pocket. The suspect was placed in custody on scene without further incident and is expected to appear in Roxbury District Court on charges of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition and Carrying a Loaded Firearm. One of the suspects is believed to have left their ankle monitor on scene (as seen in photo for evidence marker 26).

Detectives have yet to determine if the arrested party was involved in the initial call for shots fired. This investigation remains active and ongoing at this time and anyone with information is urged to contact District B-2 Detectives as (617) 343-4275.

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to assist this investigation in an anonymous manner.