Authorities say they have made an arrest in connection with a deadly shooting Monday night in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office said police responded just before 8 p.m. to the intersection of Middlesex and Maude streets. A man was found suffering from seven gunshot wounds to his face, upper body and leg, according to the police report.
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The man was brought to Lowell General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, prosecutors said. The shooting victim has been identified as 24-year-old Nikhl Israni, of Lowell.
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The district attorney's office said Tuesday morning that 20-year-old Bravindah Mawanda, of Lowell, has been charged with fatally shooting Israni.
They said the preliminary investigation suggests that Mawanda and Israni were in Israni's Honda Civic when Mawanda shot Israni multiple times and then fled back into his home near the shooting scene. Police were subsequently able to identify Mawanda and locate a gun consistent with Israni's wounds inside Mawanda's home.
Police said surveillance footage recovered from a nearby address showed a man walking from the area around the time of the shooting and entering a nearby address.
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When confronted with that information by police, Mawanda ultimately admitted that he sold street drugs, including Psilocybin mushrooms, and had met with a man to exchange some drugs. But he claimed Israni pulled a gun on him, which he grabbed and pointed it on him. Mawanda said a passenger in the vehicle also appeared to be pulling out a gun, so he fired into the car toward Israni.
Later in the interview, Mawanda admitted to police that there was no passenger in the vehicle and that he had made that part up. But he maintained that Israni pulled a gun on him before he wrestled it away from him and shot at him eight times.
When he was interviewed by police Mawanda also had "visible areas of red/brown stains consistent with blood" on them.
Mawanda is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning in Lowell District Court a murder charge and multiple firearms related charges.
