Gang unit investigating shooting on Lynn-Swampscott street

LYNN – An 18-year-old local man sustained non life-threatening injuries when shots were fired early Tuesday morning at a Hillside Avenue house familiar to police, said Chief Kevin Coppinger.Emergency medical personnel transported Jose Martinez of 501 Washington St. to Massachusetts General Hospital with gunshot wounds to one of his arms and a leg, Coppinger said.He said reports of shots fired sent police to 56 Hillside Ave. at 5:48 a.m. Officers reported multiple shots were fired into the house, and holes could be seen in the front wall and windows of a garage converted into a residence next to 56 Hillside.No arrests had been made as of 4 p.m. Tuesday and Coppinger said the Police Department gang unit is investigating the shooting. Several individuals were in the house when the shooting occurred, said Coppinger.?That is an address we are familiar with. We?ve been up there on other occasions for gang-related investigations,” he said.Located near Essex Street and lined with homes, Hillside straddles the Lynn-Swampscott line.City records list 56 Hillside?s owners as Avana and Yolanda Morris, and list Yolanda, Chantell, Avana and Wendell Morris as residents along with Ziaquian Goode-Morris.Longtime Hillside resident Paul Floyd said he heard “eight rapid succession shots” shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday followed by the sound of a car accelerating.?I looked out the window and saw a white or yellow car flying down the street,” he said.Patricia Crawley lives across Hillside from the shooting site and said gunshots woke her up at 5:52 a.m. At first she thought the loud noises were made by workers getting an early start on pipe repairs ongoing on Hillside.?I looked out the window and didn?t see anything, then I heard a woman screaming, ?He?s down, get an ambulance,?” she said.Ten small yellow evidence markers dotted the stairs and a section of the driveway in front of them, but crime scene officers provided no information on the shooting except to say emergency workers transported a man to the hospital.Ward 3 City Councilor Darren Cyr said information provided to him by police indicated the shooting “was not a case of someone randomly driving through the neighborhood.” Floyd has lived on Hillside for most of his 67 years.?The area?s getting a little rough; it bothers me,” he said.Crawley has lived on Hillside for eight months and she described the street as “a quiet neighborhood.” Cyr agreed but said the shooting will focus his attention and heightened police attention on the street.?Now we?re going to be watching it all the time,” he said.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].