Lynn man arrested in connection with Friday shooting of 15-year-old girl

LYNN — A Lynn man faces numerous firearms-related charges in connection with what investigators said appears to be the accidental shooting of a 15-year-old girl Friday night on North Common Terrace, according to police.

The teenager, who suffered life-threatening injuries after she was shot in the torso, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, Lynn police Lieutenant Michael Kmiec said in a statement Saturday. She is expected to survive, he said.

Kmiec said Michael Tate, 23, was arrested and scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Lynn District Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, unlawful possession of ammunition, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.

The shooting took place around 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The firearm used in the shooting was recovered by officers at the scene, according to Kmiec.

The shooting scene was located within a small neighborhood consisting largely of an apartment building and several three-deckers on North Common Terrace. On Saturday morning, the neighborhood was quiet, and doors to the gray apartment buildings that line the parking lot were cracked open, but few people were outside.

“It’s usually quiet back here — there’s a lot of little kids,” said one resident, who declined to give his name due to safety concerns.

Victoria Martin, another resident, was celebrating her daughter’s third birthday Friday night when the shooting occurred.

“My uncle heard a gunshot, but he thought it was fireworks,” she said, “and then I heard cops running around looking for people.”

Martin said that she saw police enter a unit of one of the buildings as soon as they arrived. Police placed a young man into custody, she said. More police soon flooded the scene and blocked entry to the terrace.

“It was crazy and scary,” Martin said. “I’ve lived here almost 16 years, and this is the first time I’m experiencing something like this.”