Man shot and killed on Woodruff Way in Mattapan; one man facing illegal gun charges

By Katherine Landergan and Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondents

Police guarded a Mattapan residence in a public housing development Sunday night after an early-morning shooting there left one person dead, authorities said.

Soon after the shooting, Osmell Odena, 22, of Boston, was arrested nearby and charged with unlawful possession of a gun and ammunition, Boston Police said in a statement posted to the department’s website, bpdnews.com.

At approximately 2:35 a.m. Sunday, police responded to the area of 24 Woodruff Way for reports of shots fired and a person possibly shot, according to the statement.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found a victim, a man whose age was not provided, suffering from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A brown vehicle was seen driving away from the area at “a noteworthy rate of speed,” the statement said. Police officers were initially unsuccessful in their efforts to pull the car over but then the driver stopped in the area of Donwood Terrace and Ridgeview Avenue.

Three people quickly exited the car and fled the scene, according to the statement.

“Officers were able to chase down and take into custody one of the three fleeing suspects,” the statement said. “While the suspect was being detained, officers retraced the steps taken during the foot pursuit in an effort to locate any discarded evidence. Upon doing so, officers observed and recovered a loaded firearm.”

Odena is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester Municipal Court on Tuesday, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office. Wark said he could not provide further information about the shooting.

No further arrests had been made as of Sunday night, according to Boston Police spokesman Officer James Kenneally. He also said he could not immediately provide further details.

A police cruiser was parked in front of 24 Woodruff Way Sunday evening. An officer inside the cruiser stepped out to tell a Globe reporter not to approach the two-story building because it was an “active crime scene,” but declined to say more.

A voicemail left at a phone number listed for the address was not returned Sunday.

According to the city assessing department’s website, the property is part of the Gallivan public housing development owned by the Boston Housing Authority. Officials at the authority could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Several neighbors along the residential street declined to comment Sunday evening.

The murder was the fourth in Boston this year, police said.

The incident is under investigation by the Boston Police Homicide Unit. Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470. For those who would like to leave an anonymous tip may call 1(800) 494-TIPS or text the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).