DORCHESTER — A 16-year-old Boston juvenile is facing three firearms charges after Boston police officers say they heard the unmistakable thud of metal hitting the floor of a Blue Hill Avenue convenience store late Wednesday night — and pulled a loaded handgun out of his bag.

Members of the Boston Police Department's Youth Violence Strike Force were on patrol near Harambe Park around 11:25 p.m. on June 17, 2026, when they spotted three males huddled on the corner of Blue Hill Avenue and Balsam Street, according to a department release. As officers moved in, the trio scattered and walked off in different directions. One of them peeled off and ducked into the convenience store at 1112 Blue Hill Avenue.

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Officers followed him inside. The teen pointedly refused to engage with police and addressed only the store clerk, BPD said. Then he set his bag down on the floor — and the thud of an apparent metal object inside gave him away.

A frisk turned up a Davis Industries P-380 semi-automatic loaded with five rounds of live ammunition, police said. The 16-year-old, whose name has been withheld because he is a juvenile, was taken into custody on the spot.

He is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court on charges of being delinquent to wit — Carrying a Loaded Firearm Without a License, Carrying a Firearm Without a License, and Possession of Ammunition Without an FID Card.

The arrest is exactly the kind of bust the Youth Violence Strike Force was built for: three teens clustered on a corner near a public park, scattering at the first sight of police, with at least one allegedly carrying a loaded gun. Massachusetts already runs one of the strictest gun-licensing regimes in the country, but those rules only matter when officers are on the street to enforce them.

Boston police bust 16-year-old with loaded handgun after his bag thuds onto Dorchester store floor

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