BROCKTON - The suspect in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old had been brandishing a gun at one another a few days before the firearm went off Tuesday during an incident involving a video game.
Asking for a video game, William Suarez, 18, pointed the gun at Olivier Baptiste and twice pulled the trigger before the weapon fired, shooting Baptiste in the head, according to court documents.
The boy died an hour later at a local hospital.
Suarez, of 317 Battles Farm Drive, pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, illegal possession of a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling at his arraignment in Brockton District Court on Wednesday.
He was held on $1 million bail after his arraignment in the fatal shooting late Tuesday afternoon.
“At this point it remains under investigation,” Assistant District Attorney Bridget Norton Middleton said.
Middleton declined to comment on whether additional charges would be considered.
Meanwhile, grief counselors were available at Brockton High School, where Associate Principal Maria LeFort described Baptiste, a sophomore, as a “very good student” who was never absent.
“I know what the reaction was of the teachers who have him,” LeFort said Wednesday. “They were all praising him and talking about what a great kid he was.”
“It’s heart-breaking,” LeFort added.
Suarez graduated from Brockton High in 2007, school officials said.
Baptiste lived four apartments away from Suarez in the housing complex on Battles Farm Drive.
The shooting took place about an hour after Gov. Deval Patrick came to Brockton to laud local and state police for a surge of officers that had prevented any shootings since mid-February. There have been five homicides since the beginning of the year in Brockton.
At 3:47 p.m. Tuesday, Baptiste was visiting 317 Battles Farm Drive, where Suarez lives, according to court documents.
Inside the home, Suarez approached Baptiste and told the boy to give him a video game that Baptiste was holding, according to court documents.
When Baptiste did not give him the game, Suarez pulled out a gun from his waistband, pointed the gun at Baptiste’s head and pulled the trigger, according to court documents. The gun did not fire initially.
Baptiste then put his hands in front of his face and asked Suarez to stop, Suarez told authorities. Suarez pulled the trigger again and the gun fired, striking Baptiste in the right temple area of his head, according to court documents.
Witnesses told authorities that Suarez then put the gun down on the kitchen counter and began saying, “This just didn’t happen,” according to court documents.
People in the household then called 911 for help.
Police found a .32-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver in a wooded area adjacent to 317 Battles Farm Drive.
The firearm fit the description, given by Suarez and witnesses, of the firearm that Suarez possessed during the shooting, according to court documents.
The firearm and ammunition were kept in a shoe box under Suarez’ bed, according to court documents.
Link:
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