Dorchester man held on $1M bail in connection with shooting that injured young brother and sister

Crime

Boston police said they are still searching for another suspect in the Sept. 17 shooting, which wounded five.

A Dorchester man is being held on $1 million bail after he was charged in connection with a shooting that left five people injured last month, including a young brother and sister.

Gianni Johnson, 24, was arrested Monday night and arraigned in Boston Municipal Court the next morning on several charges tied to the Sept. 17 shooting at 50 Ames St. in Dorchester. 

Boston police said officers responded to the shooting shortly after 8:30 p.m. and found five people wounded in a rear courtyard — three adults and two juveniles. One of the children suffered life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition, police said in a Tuesday news release. 

The siblings’ father, John Howard, told NBC10 Boston that 15-year-old Juliana and 11-year-old Johan were playing outside when they were shot. The teen girl was shot four times, with one bullet hitting her in the head, NBC10 Boston reported. 

“She’s responsive. She’s not fully out of sedation right now,” Howard told the news station on Monday. “She can blink her eyes kind of, not 100%, but she’s responsive, and we know that she can hear us.”

Johan, he said, is traumatized but expected to recover physically. 

“I definitely want some justice to be served, and I really feel confident it’s going to happen,” Howard told NBC10. “But right now, before we get onto all that, let the police do their part. I’ve got to do my part as a dad to make sure she’s OK.”

Due to the severity of the injuries, the Boston Police Homicide Unit has been leading the investigation alongside the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. 

Johnson is charged with five counts of assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a large capacity feeding device, unlawful possession of a machine gun, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, the DA’s office said. 

Johnson pleaded not guilty to the charges and is slated for a probable cause hearing on Nov. 2. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. 

Boston police said they are also searching for a second suspect in the shooting, 24-year-old Micah Ennis of South Boston. He is facing the same charges as Johnson. 

“We commend the cooperation from the residents of our City who are fed up with these reckless acts, and the incredible work and dedication of our Homicide Unit who have been working this case round the clock,” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said in a statement.

“We realize this can’t erase the pain and suffering of the children and adults who were injured in this outrageous shooting,” Cox continued. “The Boston Police Department will continue to work to hold all of those responsible accountable for violence in our neighborhoods.”

Boston police urged anyone with information on the shooting to call homicide detectives at 617-343-4470. Community members can also provide tips anonymously by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word “TIP” to “CRIME” (27463).

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden, who met with members of the victims’ family members at Tuesday’s arraignment, praised investigators and community members for their help on the case. 

“The brutality of sending bullets flying where people were gathered and children were playing should shock and outrage all of us and should unite us — and I mean all of us, from every community and every sector and every level of society — against the glut of illegal guns in our city and the people so willing to use them,” Hayden said in a statement. 

He added: “We need to recognize and treat gun violence as a societal epidemic. How else can we describe a brother and sister shot while playing outside their home on a warm late-summer evening?”