Advertisement Child hit by bullet when gunfire erupts after peace rally in Brockton By Benjamin Paulin/Brockton Enterprise Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Mail carrier Levy Joao had just stopped at his Bartlett Street home in Brockton for a quick lunch when a dozen gunshots tore through his neighborhood.Watch the report"I just stopped for five minutes to grab lunch, you know?" Joao, 25, of Brockton said. "I heard seven or six. Boom, boom, boom. When I came outside there was already cops over here."He went downstairs to find that one of the bullets had entered through the side of the multifamily house and grazed his 3-year-old nephew's left leg.Another bullet struck the front corner of his mail truck parked in front of the home, the Brockton Enterprise reported.At first Joao and his family thought the boy was crying because of the loud gunshots."He was crying but we thought he was just scared. But there was a red mark on the left leg that was blood," Joao said. "It was just a little bit on his leg. He was inside on the first floor. He's my nephew."Paul Anderson, who also lives on Bartlett Street, knew right away what the loud bang sounds were."It caught my attention right away. I'm a former U.S. m arshal and firearms instructor, so it was very clear that there was gunshots fired," Anderson, 74, said. "I saw what looked to me like a gold, four-door, full-size, I'm guessing a Nissan, and there was a number of people in the car."Asked if his street, which is a block away from Belmont Street and near Warren Avenue, is relatively quiet, Anderson said no."There's a lot of drug dealing going on," he said.He also said people drive very fast up his street and there are frequent car crashes.The boy was crying on the stretcher as he was wheeled out of the home and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. His injury was described by police as minor and superficial.Twelve spent slugs and shell casings, both 9mm and .40 caliber, were spread across the pavement along Bartlett Street.The incident happened moments after a peace rally was wrapping up a few blocks away at Brockton City Hall.Police searched the area but as of 5 p.m. had not made any arrests.A member of the Plymouth County Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to the scene to photograph and document evidence.Get the WCVB News App