After being shot in the leg just outside Davis Square early Sunday morning, a man hijacked a taxi and ran down the man who he said shot him, according to police.
Somerville police arrested Malden resident Marcel Laurol, 32, after responding to reports of gunfire less than a block from the center of the square.
Laurol was allegedly shot at the corner of Elm and Chester Streets after leaving a bar around 2 a.m. Following the shooting, he carjacked a cab that had two passengers in it, jumped a curb and drove down the alleged shooter, a 25-year-old man from Brockton, before crashing the taxi into a building on Herbert Street, according to reports.
Click here to view an interactive map of the shooting.
When Laurol hijacked the vehicle and subsequently drove down Chester Street, two passengers were already inside. Police interviewed the two fares in depth last night, Somerville Police Department Captain Paul Upton told the Daily.
The relationship between the hijacker and the alleged shooter and whether drugs were involved is still under investigation. The police did not release the name of the man who was hit by the car.
After the incident, the two men were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to reports.
Upon his release from the hospital, Laurol was arrested and charged with two counts of kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carjacking, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license. He was due to be arraigned at the Somerville District Court yesterday morning, according to The Somerville Journal.
The police are working with bars in Davis on taking precautions in light of the events.
"The Alcohol Licensing Board is reviewing their policies and procedures for entertainment and closing procedures," Upton said.
But Upton does not believe the overall safety of Davis Square is in jeopardy.
"It's an individual incident that we are certainly very concerned about," he said. "But this area in particular does not have a history of these kinds of violence."
Upton, who has lived in the Davis Square area most of his life, called the alleged shooting "a very unusual event."
"We are taking steps to make sure those things don't happen again, but there are no guarantees wherever you are," he said.
Police are encouraging anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident or may have any relevant information to contact the Somerville Police Department at (617) 625-1600, extensions 7235 or 7226.
