2 men arrested in connection to shots fired in Boston’s Back Bay area

BOSTON — Wendy Werbe saw the shooting all unfold through a window during a meeting inside the Mandarin Oriental on Boylston Street.

“I saw the gun and the person with the gun,” she told Boston 25. “We heard a bunch of pops really quickly and then we saw folks scrambling.”

Warbe also snapped a picture of the man she says was firing the gun as he hopped back into a white SUV. She then says people realized what was happening.

“People heard it and started running in this direction and that way too,” she said.

According to officials, a call came in at around 3:54 p.m. on Tuesday in the area of Newbury and Exeter streets for reports of shots fired.

Sky 25 video captured the massive police response to a call for shots fired just before 4 p.m. on Tuesday in the normally quiet and very safe Back Bay.

The shooting happened on Fairfield Street which was soon blocked off with crime scene tape and evidence markers covered the street while nearby car windows were riddled with bullets.

Kelly Santiago says she almost turned onto Fairfield while walking with her husband. "This is where the shots rang out. I’ve never heard gunshots in my life. I was scared to death. They were saying run, run!” Santiago said.

Rob DeFibritis was headed back to work after a coffee break when he heard the gunfire.

“It was just out of nowhere just bang, bang, bang,” he said.

Then he saw people fleeing for their lives. “It was a big group of people running away from the shots maybe 15 to 20 people,” he said.

His friend, Roger, said after hearing and seeing that they both took off too.

“And I heard bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang and everybody started running so I started and we all ran,” Roger said.

Amazingly no one was injured in what Werbe says felt like watching a real life movie, “It was very surreal to see it happen that close where you see the individual and the gun and all of this happening. It was sort of like slow motion.”

Boston Police said they arrested two men following the shooting and identified them early Wednesday as 24-year-old Rashawn Bly and 23-year-old Walter Coleman, both of Boston. The two are facing numerous charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging a weapon within 500 feet of a dwelling and multiple counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. They are set to be arraigned Wednesday in Boston Municipal Court.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW