BOSTON MA. - FEBRUARY 22: Boston Police officers collect evidence on Gerard St. in Roxbury where a shoot out between a suspect and police officers took place before the suspect fled. The suspect was found dead on George St. and is dead while a police officer is in the hospital with non life threatening wounds on February 22, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Jim Mahoney/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) BOSTON MA. - FEBRUARY 22: A Boston Police officer monitiors the area on George St. in Roxbury where a shooting suspect was found in a vehicle after a shootout with police early on February 22. The suspect and police exchanged gunshots on Gerard St. before the suspect fled. The suspect is dead and a police officer is in the hospital with non life threatening wounds on February 22, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Jim Mahoney/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) BOSTON MA. - FEBRUARY 22: Boston Police officers collect evidence on Gerard St. in Roxbury where a shoot out between a suspect and police officers took place before the suspect fled. The suspect was found dead on George St. and is dead while a police officer is in the hospital with non life threatening wounds on February 22, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Jim Mahoney/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) FEBRUARY 22, 2019 - BOSTON: Police tape and markers on a suspect’s vehicle on George St. with a shattered windshield after a Boston Police officer and another person exchanged gunshots on Gereard St in Roxbury. The Police officer has non life threatening wounds and the suspect is dead. Courtesy of Boston25 News FEBRUARY 22, 2019 - BOSTON: Bullet holes visible in windshield of vehicle on George St. whose operator shot a Boston Police officer. Officer has non-life threatening injuries, suspect is dead. Shoting occured on Gerard St in Roxbury. Photo courtesy of Boston25 News/Ken Lucas A Boston police officer was shot and wounded in Roxbury in an exchange of fire early this morning, after which a suspect was found dead, police said. The officer was transported to Boston Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, Detective Sgt. John Boyle told the Herald. Boyle said two officers had stopped a vehicle at 2:21 a.m. on Gerard Street in Roxbury when there was an exchange of fire between the suspect in the car and police. One officer was shot several times in the upper torso. The car then fled to nearby George Street, where officers found the occupant deceased and recovered a weapon. Police Commissioner William Gross said early today the suspect “exchanged several rounds of gunfire with the Boston police officers.” That’s when the officer was “shot several times,” Gross said. He added the suspect was a man in his 30s. “We’re actively canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses, video and anything that can help in this investigation,” he added. The shooting is also being investigated by Suffolk District Attorney Rachel Rollins and her office, as are all homicides in the city. “The district attorney has the duty and authority to investigate fatal police shootings,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for the DA. “The First Assistant (Daniel Mulhern) and chief of the homicide (Edmond Zabin) along with Commissioner Gross have been updating DA Rollins since early this morning.” Wark said investigators are “still gathering information” and it was too early to comment on the identity or background of the man killed in the exchange of gunfire. Gross also asked for anyone with information about the shooting to contact police. Rollins said in a statement today she’s relieved the officer is recovering, but expressed her condolences to the family of the suspect killed. “Any loss of life is tragic and this morning’s events on Gerard Street are no exception. I want to express my relief that the injured officer is expected to survive,” the DA said. “I hope for his full recovery, and my thoughts are with his family at home and his brothers and sisters in law enforcement. I also want to express my deep sadness and sympathies for the family and loved ones of the man whose life was lost. They, too, are undoubtedly in shock at circumstances beyond their control.” She added her office is conducting a “full, fair, thorough, and impartial” probe. “By statute, this investigation and all decisions stemming from it rest exclusively with me, the District Attorney, independent of any other agency or individual,” Rollins said. “I pledge to base any decision I make exclusively on the facts, the evidence, and the law, and again I offer my prayers and condolences to both families impacted by this shooting.”<doc-sep>A Boston cop was shot multiple times when a traffic stop turned into a gunfight early Friday — before the suspect was found dead, police officials said. The officer, who was not immediately identified, was shot several times in the upper torso but was expected to survive, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross told reporters at Boston Medical Center. The officer was shot by the suspect after a motor vehicle stop at 2:21 a.m. in the city’s Roxbury section, where the unidentified driver “exchanged several rounds of gunfire” with cops, Gross said, according to the Boston Globe. The suspect, who fled, was found dead in his SUV just a few blocks away, CBS Boston reports. “We located the suspect inside of the motor vehicle, he’s a male in his mid- to late 30s,” Gross said. “Unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased on scene. There wasn’t a second exchange of gunfire at the second location.” It was not immediately clear how the suspect died. A gun was recovered by police from the suspect’s SUV, which had several bullet holes in the windshield, Gross said. The wounded officer has been on the force for less than two years. His partner, who was also not immediately identified, was not injured during the exchange of gunfire, Gross said. “We’d like to thank the doctors, the nurses and EMS for their quick response in aiding our Boston police officers,” Gross told reporters during the press conference. It was unclear why the suspect was initially pulled over, according to CBS Boston. Investigators are now “canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses, video and anything that can help,” Gross told the station.<doc-sep>“He appeared as if he was drunk,” said the woman who owns the Mercedes. “He wasn’t able to speak. . . . He was gasping for air.” On the street, a blue minivan equipped with a car seat had crashed into a red Mercedes coupe. The driver was badly hurt. In the dead of night, a thundering crash shook George Street in Roxbury early Friday, jolting residents from sleep and sending them running outside to see what happened. A short time later, Boston police officers surrounded the minivan, with guns drawn. But the man, later identified by two law enforcement officials as Kasim Kahrim, 36, was dead. Advertisement The officers had followed the minivan from Gerard Street, less than a quarter-mile away, where police allege the driver shot at two uniformed officers, wounding one of them. The officer, who was not identified, was shot several times in the upper torso and later underwent surgery and is expected to survive, officials said later Friday. Kahrim, the man two officials identified as the minivan driver, had allegedly fired at the officers after they encountered his vehicle around 2:20 a.m., according to police. The officers returned fire, striking Kahrim, who drove away before crashing on George Street. Police said they found a gun inside the minivan. Police did not explain what brought officers in contact with Kahrim or provide details about the gunfight, saying the investigation was ongoing. Kahrim had been released from MCI-Shirley less than three months ago, on Dec. 7, after he pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm without a license, according to court records and the state Department of Correction. Police arrested him for that offense in March 2016 after Kahrim fired a gun in the presence of an 88-year-old woman on Harlow Street in Dorchester, where Kahrim’s family owns a condominium, records show. Advertisement Since at least 2001, Kahrim has been in and out of prison or jail for a range of criminal convictions for offenses such as stalking in violation of a restraining order, carjacking, and violating probation, court records show. On George Street, a man described watching police close in on Kahrim’s minivan after the crash. “I saw the cop running,” said the man, who declined to give his name. “I heard the vehicle crash. . . . I didn’t know the guy was dead or anything.” At an early-morning news conference Friday at Boston Medical Center, Boston police Commissioner William Gross said Kahrim “exchanged several rounds of gunfire, with the Boston police officers, resulting in an officer [being] shot several times.” He didn’t identify Kahrim by name. The officers have been on the force for one or two years, Gross said. They are assigned to the South Boston station. The conversations between dispatchers and the officers on the scene were posted on the Broadcastify website. One of the officers can be heard calling out the description of the minivan, its license plate number, and the direction it was heading. “He took off on us. It’s a blue minivan,’’ the officer on the scene yelled into the radio. “He’s been hit.” “Which way did he go?” an officer asked. “101, do you have that car stopped?’’ the dispatcher asked. “He took off on us,’’ the officer on the scene reported. The officer’s tone then shifted dramatically as he called for an ambulance at the intersection of Allerton and Pompeii streets. “Allerton and Pompeii,’’ the officer said. “My brother’s been hit.” Advertisement In a statement, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said her office will conduct a “full, fair, thorough, and impartial” investigation into the shooting, as required by law. She said she was relieved the wounded officer will survive and extended her hopes for a full recovery to his family and fellow officers. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to come forward, Gross and Rollins said. In her statement, Rollins expressed “deep sadness and sympathies” for Kahrim’s family, whom she did not identify by name. His family is “undoubtedly in shock at circumstances beyond their control.” On Harlow Street, people gathered at Kahrim’s home declined to comment. Kahrim had supporters who tried to help him, court records show. In 2012, Carlos Henriquez, then a state representative, wrote a letter on his behalf, saying “he is doing everything he can to get his life back on track.” The same year, James Hills, an antiviolence activist, wrote a letter supporting Kahrim, describing him as “polite and articulate.” On Friday, Hills said he was stunned that Kahrim was killed in an encounter with police. While jailed in Norfolk County in 2013, Kahrim completed a substance abuse treatment program, a men’s health course, and parenting classes. Abbi Matheson, Kathy McCabe, Mike Bello, John R. Ellement, and Travis Andersen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney. Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi.<doc-sep>
BOSTON (CBS) – A Boston Police Officer was shot and wounded in Roxbury early Friday morning. The suspect, who has been identified by sources as 36-year-old Kasim Kahrim, is dead. Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said two uniformed officers in a marked car pulled over an SUV on Gerard Street in Roxbury at 2:21 a.m. when a man in the vehicle started firing. One officer was hit several times in the “upper torso,” Gross said, as gunfire was exchanged. The second officer was not hurt. Sources said the officer was hit in the left bicep and twice in the right hand. The SUV took off and was found crashed a short time later on George Street. “We located the suspect inside of the motor vehicle, he’s a male in his mid-to-late 30’s. Unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased on scene,” said Gross. “There wasn’t a second exchange of gunfire at the second location,” the commissioner told reporters. A gun was found inside the SUV though, police said, and there were bullet holes in the windshield. A woman living on George Street said she woke to the sound of something crashing into her car and called police. “It didn’t sound like a normal crash, it was a big boom,” she said. “During the call, we discovered the shots in the window and we stopped one of the officers that was zooming up and down the street.” The wounded officer, who has not been identified, was taken to Boston Medical Center for treatment. Gross said the officer has been on the force just one-to-two years. Police said the injuries are not life-threatening. “We’d like to thank the doctors, the nurses, and EMS for their quick response in aiding our Boston police officers,” said Gross. The suspected gunman, Kasim Kahrim, was released from jail in December of 2018 and was out on probation. It’s still not clear yet why officers pulled over the SUV before the shooting started. It was towed away from George Street around 6 a.m. A woman who lives on the street said she was woken up by a crash and that’s when she found her new Mercedes-Benz damaged. “We just called 911, we thought it was an accident,” the woman, who did not want to be named, told WBZ-TV. “During the call, we discovered the shots on the window.” “We stopped one of the officers that was zooming up and down the street, and that’s when they approached the car,” she said. “If anyone has any information, please contact us at 1-800-494-TIPS. We are actively canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses, video, and anything that can help in this investigation,” Gross said. Kasim Kahrim was arrested in 2016 on gun charges. #WBZ #ITeam — Cheryl Fiandaca (@CherylFiandaca) February 22, 2019 Residents on George Street told WBZ-TV they frequently call the police to the neighborhood. “It’s very dangerous. If an officer can get hit, we are nothing,” one man said. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins also released a statement about the shooting Friday: ““Any loss of life is tragic and this morning’s events on Gerard Street are no exception. I want to express my relief that the injured officer is expected to survive. I hope for his full recovery, and my thoughts are with his family at home and his brothers and sisters in law enforcement. I also want to express my deep sadness and sympathies for the family and loved ones of the man whose life was lost. They, too, are undoubtedly in shock at circumstances beyond their control. . . I want to assure the people of Boston and Suffolk County that I will be conducting an independent investigation into this incident and it will be full, fair, thorough, and impartial.”