Gang member gets prison after he admits opening fire in the Forest Hills T station and hitting two bystanders

Reginald Price, 19, of Jamaica Plain, acknowledged today he shot two women who happened to be in the way of the bullets he meant for a member of a rival gang at the Forest Hills station in January, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp sentenced him to seven years after he pleaded guilty to three counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts each of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery by discharging a firearm and single counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition for the Jan. 26 incident, the DA's office reports.

Prosecutors had asked for 10 to 15 years in prison.

Had the case proceeded to trial, [Assistant DA Benjamin] Megrian would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that Price became involved in a verbal dispute with another male at the Forest Hills MBTA station at approximately 1:45 p.m. that afternoon. Price left the station but soon returned with an associate and again engaged in conversation with the person he had previously argued with. That individual, an alleged gang rival, was soon joined by two other males, the evidence would have shown.

The three males followed Price and his associate until Price produced a Sig Sauer P239 .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol and opened fire. He missed each of his intended targets and instead struck two women who were inside the crowded station, the evidence showed.

One victim, a 24-year-old woman, was grazed in the head, and the other, a 62-year-old woman, was struck in the abdomen.

Both of the victims submitted victim-witness statements. The younger woman read hers in court:

I lost my sense of safety, my feeling of comfort in my own home, my sense of security when leaving my home to go to school, work, or anywhere else, as the MBTA was my primary mode of transportation at the time of the shooting. I have confronted feelings of deep anxiety, fearing that I will be hurt again or that family members or loved ones will also be the victims of undeserving and unprovoked gun violence. I hope that whatever time he serves will center around serving others, improving the community, learning about alternatives to violence, reflecting on how to help, rather than hurt, those around him.

And the older woman wrote:

The wounds and internal injuries to multiple organs have left my body weak and unable to perform many daily chores and activities. I can't even walk for more than a short distance before feeling short of breath and need to stop. It has also affected me mentally. I cannot focus and my mind is not the same as before. The anxiety and the depression make living life very difficult and at times feel like I've lost the will to live.