A man was found dead in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood late Saturday night, according to police, who say he had been shot.
Boston police announced Sunday that there was a death investigation underway at 140 Main Street after officers responded around 10:33 p.m. the night before to a report of a pedestrian struck there and found an adult male lying on the ground in the convenience store's parking lot.
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Further investigation revealed the victim had been shot, police said, and he was pronounced dead on scene by Boston EMS. He has since been identified as 46-year-old Joseph Donahue, of Charlestown.
NBC10 Boston spoke with one of Donahue's closest friends, who says she's trying to come to terms with this tragedy.
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“Honestly I haven’t slept yet because I just – I feel so bad thinking about what was going through his head at that moment and how scared he must have been," Shannon Lundin said in a phone interview.
Lundin describes Donahue as funny, loyal and vibrant. She says he never gave up going to recovery programs over the years to fight addiction.
“He had his own underlying issues and things that he needed to address as to why he would keep going back out, but he was really, really trying and he never gave up, and he didn’t deserve to go out like this," she said. "He didn’t deserve what happened to him last night.”
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"There’s no expiration on grief and I’m sure that it's going to come up many, many times, especially early on, but for the rest of my life,” Lundin added. "I just wish it didn’t have to happen this way.”
Police haven't shared more information about the incident at this time, and no arrests have been announced.
The Boston Police Department's homicide unit is actively investigating what happened, and anyone with information is strongly urged to contact detectives at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can also be called into the CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or texted to CRIME (27463) with the word "TIP."
