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Inset: Shawn Walker (WBZ/YouTube). Background: Law enforcement officers respond to a shooting on 258 Dudley Street in Boston, Massachusetts (WBZ/YouTube).
In Massachusetts, a man stands accused of shooting and paralyzing a woman, allegedly missing his intended target, just days after he hinted on social media about an addiction to violence.
Shawn Walker, aged 24, is facing multiple charges, including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon leading to serious injury, using a firearm during a felony, and firing a gun within 500 feet of a building, according to the Boston Police Department.
The incident occurred around 4 p.m. on October 8, as a 25-year-old woman and her boyfriend were walking home from a medical appointment near 258 Dudley Street in Roxbury, Boston. As they passed a liquor store and a restaurant, they suddenly heard gunfire, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
The pair instinctively ducked for cover, but when the woman attempted to stand, she collapsed, unable to move.
Boston police quickly arrived at the scene around 4:10 p.m. and discovered the woman lying on the sidewalk, suffering from a gunshot wound to her back.
A nearby restaurant and vehicle in the area were damaged in the shooting, per the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. More than 20 discharged 9 mm Luger shell casings were found at the scene, with video from Boston’s CBS affiliate WBZ showing massive cracks in the restaurant’s windows.
The victim was brought to an area hospital where she was treated for a gunshot wound “near her spinal cord, resulting in immediate loss of movement from the waist down,” authorities said.
There was “extensive surveillance footage of the area before, during and after the shooting,” the DA’s office said, and authorities believed they saw the shooter. A gray Hyundai sedan could be seen parking at the intersection of Dudley and another street, and then “the shooter is seen exiting the rear passenger-side door and running toward” the shooting location, “where he takes a shooting stance.”
There was apparently an “intended target,” and he was standing outside the restaurant prior to the shooting. However, according to authorities, he “immediately runs into the restaurant to take cover when he notices the shooter approaching.”
“Multiple projectiles” hit the front of the restaurant, which authorities noted was filled with patrons and employees. “The shooter is seen getting back into the gray Hyundai before it speeds away.”
Another man was also arrested in the case: 23-year-old Devante Stinson. He faces the same three charges as Walker and was arrested on Oct. 23. Stinson is alleged to have been the driver in the shooting. Walker was arrested on Wednesday, the Boston Police Department said.
Authorities said social media helped them in their investigation. Court documents reviewed by WBZ said Walker was a rapper who went by the name “Th$ Lowskii” and had a music video called “Addicted To Killing” posted to YouTube days after the shooting.
Walker had three prior violent and drug crimes on his record, according to the DA’s office.