Teen charged with firearm offenses after shooting at Lyft vehicle

BOSTON, June 14, 2023 – A nineteen-year-old woman is facing firearm charges in Dorchester BMC after shooting at another woman and a Lyft driver in Dorchester earlier this month, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

BRIANNA PULITO, 19, of Quincy is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, possession of ammunition without an FID card and carrying a firearm without a license. Judge Thomas Kaplanes ordered Pulito held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on June 15.

At about 3:47 a.m. on June 2, Boston police responded to a call for shots fired in the area of Corona Street in Dorchester. Officers spoke to a Lyft driver who said he had just picked up a female passenger when gunfire struck his vehicle. He said he heard three gunshots and then quickly drove away. Officers observed ballistic damage to the front driver’s side door and located three casings, one in an alleyway and two in a driveway. Offices also found two live rounds on the street.

Neither the woman nor the driver were injured.

The victim, 19, told investigators that she had been in a three-week relationship with the assailant, later identified as Pulito. Investigators obtained a warrant for Pulito’s arrest and issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) statewide.

Quincy Police pulled over Pulito on June 9. Officers found a 9mm black Taurus firearm under the driver seat with one round in the chamber and seven rounds in the magazine. They also found three loose 9mm rounds and a 30-round 5.56mm magazine with no ammunition in the cabin, and three 9mm rounds in a backpack in the trunk.

“This woman opened fire on two people in a car with no regard of the consequences. Just in the last few weeks we’ve seen shooters send bullets flying in busy neighborhoods, including daytime shootings on Shawmut Avenue in Roxbury and along Revere Beach.  We will seek dangerousness hearings whenever we feel they are necessary to keep our residents safe,” Hayden said.

All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications