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Woman and daughter, 11, fatally shot in SUV in Massachusetts; police arrest man, search for another

A mother and her 11-year-old daughter have been fatally shot while sitting in a parked SUV in a Massachusetts neighborhood

Via AP news wire
Thursday 07 March 2024 12:16 GMT

A mother and her 11-year-old daughter were fatally shot while sitting in a parked SUV in a Massachusetts neighborhood. Police arrested one man and were searching for another.

The mother and daughter were shot shortly after 3 p.m. Monday in Worcester, police said. Officers found them inside the SUV. They were taken to a hospital, where they were both pronounced dead, police said.

One man was arrested Tuesday. Police did not release any information on that person, but said they were searching for a 27-year-old man in connection with the killings of Chasity Nunez and her daughter, Zella Nunez.

Police said in court documents that surveillance video shows ā€œthe victims parked in their vehicle and that two people walk up to the vehicle and start shooting,ā€ the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported. Video also showed a car consistent with a witness description circling the area before the shooting and leaving afterward, the documents said. The vehicle was later found in Hartford, Connecticut.

Authorities didn’t immediately release a potential motive for the killings. It also wasn’t released whether there was any relationship between the men and the victims.

ā€œToday we mourn the senseless loss of two Worcester residents, a mother and daughter whose lives were taken far too soon and far too tragically," the city's mayor, city manager, police chief and school district superintendent said in a joint statement.

ā€œCollectively, we ask for patience and privacy on behalf of the victims’ family and friends and for the Worcester Public Schools who are grieving the loss of a student. An act of such violence has no place in our city.ā€

The statement said the residents of Worcester ā€œdeserve better, and we will stand alongside our community in sorrow and solidarity.ā€

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