BOSTON -- A man was shot and killed near an elementary school in Dorchester Tuesday.
According to police, the 23-year-old man was shot in the area of Westvale and Bowdoin Streets.
The John Marshall Elementary School was put on safe mode just before noon as a precaution.
"It was about five gun shots. It started off it was one, and it was silent. I thought it was over and then about four more came after that," said Sharon Smith, who was at the Marshall School voting.
The Marshall school was being used as a polling location.
"We had officers responding directly to the school so that there was no danger to the students or the faculty at the school and then we secured the scene in a matter that the polling location was not impeded," Deputy Supt. Robert Merner, of the Boston Police Department.
Volunteers were holding election signs on the street when the shots were fired.
"They heard a pop, pop, pop sound. They turned and there was a lot of commotion at the top of the street," said Bobby Petitte, a campaign volunteer.
The polls stayed open, but voters were confused because police had blocked off the street.
Police spent time Tuesday afternoon searching for the suspect with dogs and interviewing local residents.
The suspect is still on the loose. He was last seen running from the scene and is described as a male about 6 feet tall wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, and a baseball cap. Anyone with information is asked to call the Boston Police Department.
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