A 29-year-old Roxbury man is being held without bail after police say he opened fire on an occupied car just steps from an elementary school, then ran into a nearby apartment building as officers raced to the scene. Jermaine Blackman was arrested Saturday, September 26, and now faces attempted murder charges tied to the shooting near Pauline Bennett Way and Smith Street, right next to the Maurice J. Tobin K-8 School.
According to MassLive, police responded to the area last Friday around 8:29 p.m. after a ShotSpotter activation indicated shots had been fired near the school, located at 40 Smith Street. Officers arriving on scene found ballistic evidence confirming gunfire near the campus. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners lists the school at 40 Smith Street.
Investigators say Blackman approached a car on Smith Street, drew a handgun, and fired at the vehicle before fleeing into an adjacent apartment building. Police located both the victim and the vehicle at the scene, and the shooting caused no reported injuries, per the same MassLive account. Officers arrested Blackman on Saturday, September 26, and, during a search of his apartment, uncovered a loaded ghost gun along with live rounds, police said.
Ghost Gun Built With Glock and Polymer80 Parts
The weapon recovered from Blackman's home was an unserialized .357 SIG ghost gun assembled with a Glock slide and a Polymer80 lower receiver, loaded with a 10-round magazine, according to a statement from the Boston Police Department. Polymer80 lower receivers are designed to let people assemble untraceable firearms at home, sidestepping the serial numbers used to trace guns linked to crimes.
The department credited ShotSpotter, the acoustic gunfire-detection technology it has deployed in Roxbury and Dorchester since 2007, with alerting officers to the discharge. The sensor network is built to pinpoint gunfire coordinates within seconds, giving officers a head start in locating both suspects and victims.
Habitual Offender Charges Add to Legal Exposure
Blackman was arraigned Monday in Roxbury District Court on charges including attempted murder, attempted assault and battery with a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a loaded firearm without a license as a fourth offense, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling. According to Universal Hub, court records show Blackman also faces enhanced charges as a habitual criminal, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm as a second offense, and a firearm offense enhancement tied to three prior violent or drug convictions.
Those habitual offender enhancements can significantly increase the prison time Blackman faces if convicted. Judge John McDonald Jr. ordered him held without bail, ruling him a potential danger to the public pending a bail-review hearing, the outlet reported.
Blackman's record includes a 2017 arrest by the Boston Police Department's Youth Violence Strike Force in Roxbury, when he was 20 years old and found carrying a loaded FMK 9mm handgun, according to Patch. That prior firearm arrest in the same neighborhood helps explain why prosecutors are pursuing him as a multi-time offender nearly a decade later.
Ghost Guns Under Statewide Scrutiny This Fall
Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, the sweeping firearm law signed by Governor Maura Healey, expanded regulations on ghost guns. That law is now facing a repeal vote as Question 9 on the November 2026 ballot, according to 1420 WBSM, meaning voters will decide this fall whether to keep the restrictions in place or roll them back.
Ghost guns remain a persistent share of illegal firearms recovered across the state. A Commonwealth Fusion Center report published earlier this month found Massachusetts law enforcement agencies seized 2,319 firearms in 2025, with 8% identified as ghost guns, according to Wisevoter.
The Boston Public Health Commission operates the Neighborhood Trauma Team, whose services are available 24/7.
