Police: Teen with loaded gun tried hiding under a Dorchester porch, but his footprints in the snow gave him away

Boston Police report gang officers were able to follow footprints in the snow and pull a 15-year-old packing a loaded gun out from under the porch he tried to hide beneath yesterday afternoon.

Police say gang-unit officers were patrolling the Roberts Playground area off Dunbar Avenue around 3:10 p.m. after receiving a tip that two groups of rival teens might be getting ready to rumble:

Officers immediately noticed that one of the males, upon seeing the officers, quickened his pace, separated himself from the group, and attempted to avoid eye contact with the officers. Having been trained in the characteristics of an armed gunman, the officers also observed that the individual made several other movements consistent with someone who may be carrying an unholstered firearm, such as pinning his right arm to his waistband as if to hold an object in place and making frequent “weapons checks” to the right side of his waist. As officers approached, the male immediately began to run through backyards. Officers followed on foot as the male ran several blocks onto Rosedale Street, where officers observed a single set of footprints in the snow leading to a lot on Aspinwall Street marked “No Trespassing.” Officers ultimately located the male hiding underneath a porch.

Police say officers found "a loaded black Canik 9mm TP-9 semi-automatic firearm," along the teen's roughly half-mile run. They brought in a thermal imager, which showed it had been recently dropped there.

The teen was charged with being delinquent for unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm and trespassing, police say.