Three individuals with connections to a stabbing in the Mass and Cass area on July 15 were arraigned on Wednesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
According to officials, Jaden Mathieu, 20, Juan Shanks, 33- both from Dorchester- and Roxbury’s Mikia Steed, 38, face multiple charges in connection with the stabbing, which all three suffered injuries from. Police were alerted of the event just before noon on July 15, reporting outside the Southampton Street Shelter, officials said.
Responding officers found Shanks and Steed suffering from stab wounds to the back, with Shanks lying on the street outside of the shelter and Steed in the shelter lobby, officials said. The officers were told to be aware of “hundreds of open, uncapped hypodermic needles” surrounding the scene, officials from the DA’s office said in a release.
Video footage of the incident obtained by police shows Mathieu, who appears to be in possession of a firearm at the time, approach Shanks and strike him with the end of the weapon, officials said. The weapon fell to the ground and was picked up by another individual before police recovered it and another firearm from a green tent on the corner of Atkinson and Southampton, police said.
Both Shanks and Mathieu were then caught on video wrestling on the ground, when Shanks is stabbed in the back by an unknown individual and, afterward, several others, including Steed, officials said. Shanks then gets up and allegedly stabbed Steed several times in the lower back, police said.
Security guards attempted to break up the fight, securing a machete in the possession of another unidentified individual. The three charged individuals sustained non-life-threatening injuries, with Shanks and Steed transported to local area hospitals and Mathieu going to Boston Medical Center with a stab wound to the back, officials said.
Mathieu, who officials said has a history of gun-related offenses, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition without an FID card, officials said.
Shanks, who officials said has an extensive juvenile record, was charged with armed assault to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Both Shanks and Mathieu were held without bail by Judge David Poole last week.
Officials said Steed, who has an open warrant in Suffolk Superior Court stemming from a December armed robbery, was charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Judge Debra DelVecchio set Steed’s bail at $2,500 with orders to have no contact with others involved, according to officials.
Police said they recovered the machete, the two firearms with live rounds and a knife from the incident. Hayden stressed the importance to find a resolution for the instances occurring in the Mass and Cass area.
“What’s happening at Mass and Cass is a human tragedy and a community nightmare,” Hayden said in a statement. “This alarming violence illustrates, yet again, the urgent need for a collaborative approach combining all our resources—local, regional and state.”
City officials said residents will be able to voice suggestions on how to redesign Clifford Playground, located blocks away from Mass and Cass, next month.
