Teen charged with beating women, shooting one in face at Franklin Field

A teen too young to have his name released is charged with beating two women and then shooting one of them in the face at the Dorchester housing complex, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office says. An accomplice was also charged.

The younger alleged thug, 15, is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail for the incident around 8 p.m. on Friday. His alleged accomplice, Brian Hemingway, 17, is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail. The shooting victim, a 22-year-old woman, remains in the ICU at Boston Medical Center but is expected to recover, the District Attorney's office says.

The District Attorney's office would neither confirm nor deny that the teen was the same one arrested in 2007 for beating and robbing a pizza delivery man at gunpoint.

According to the DA's office, three women and a five-year-old girl were walking through Franklin Field when the two teens approached them and struck one of the women in the face:

Another victim attempted to intervene on her behalf. The juvenile and Hemenway allegedly threw her to the ground and beat her before retreating to the Franklin Field Housing Development. Moments later, as the victims stood on Stratton Street, the juvenile allegedly returned and fired multiple shots at them, including the one that struck the 22-year-old victim.

DA Dan Conley said investigators are continuing to look for an answer to three specific questions: "Even after two arrests, a case like this leaves us only with questions. Who would give a 15-year-old boy a loaded gun? Why would he beat a woman and then shoot her? And how on earth did he come to think this was acceptable behavior?"

Innocent, etc.