A man being investigated for illegal drug sales in South Boston allegedly opened fire on Boston police officers today, prompting police to return fire and shoot the man in the chest on Old Colony Avenue around 1 p.m. today, police said.
The name of the man was not immediately available. He was rushed to Tufts Medical Center for treatment.
Boston Police Superintendent-in-chief Daniel Linskey said at the scene this afternoon that the man is in “decent condition’’ at the hospital.
According to Linskey, the officers conducting a drug investigation encountered the man and when he saw the officers, he opened fire, shooting two or three times in their direction, Linskey said.
At least one officer returned fire, police said, striking the man. One eyewitness told the Globe the man appeared to have been shot in the chest.
The suspect “raised a weapon and discharged rounds at the officers,†Chief Linskey said. “Officer(s) shot the man at least once in the chest.â€
Linskey said police recovered the firearm allegedly used by the man and “assorted’’ narcotics from him.
The shooting took place on the main road that separates the Mary Ellen McCormack housing development and Joseph Moakley Park. Police searched both areas for evidence related to the shooting, and also closed parts of Old Colony Avenue.
A man, who declined to be identified, told the Globe that he heard two to four shots.
“I knew it wasn’t firecrackers,†the man said in a telephone interview. He heard them go “bang, bang, bang.â€
The man said he looked out of the window of the apartment he was visiting and saw police had pinned a man to the ground. The man appeared to be bleeding from a gunshot wound to his chest.
The shooting is the second time in about a month that police opened fire with their service weapons in South Boston. On June 12, a man was shot around 9 p.m. near the intersections of East 8th and Old Harbor streets.
Boston police said the man was shot and wounded after he refused to stop pointing what they believed to be a firearm in their direction.
Melissa can be reached at melissa.hanson@globe.com or on Twitter @Melissa__Hanson Colin A. Young can be reached at colin.young@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @ColinAYoung. Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.
