Police Arrest Suspect In Chelsea Shooting As Struck Teen Recovers
CHELSEA (CBS) -- Police arrested a suspect in the shooting of a 13-year-old boy as the victim recovers from his wounds.
Police responded to Bellingham Street around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday after reports of multiple shots fired between a group of youths. They found 13-year-old Juan Lopez Delgado suffering from a gunshot wound by a stray bullet in a third-story apartment. On Thursday evening, police announced they arrested an Everett teen in connection with the shooting.
Christian Garcia, 19, of Everett, was arrested by State Police in Andover Thursday on a warrant issued by Chelsea Police for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The victim returned home from the hospital Thursday night. When the bullet struck him, Delgado said he only felt pain.
"I think my mom was looking out the window from her room, and then at that time I was about to get up and it just hit me," Delgado said. "I was by myself and the bullet just hit me and I dropped to the floor."
The boy's cousin, Julio Delgado, who lives on the first floor of the building, said the teen was in his bed at the time, and the noise of the shooting woke him up.
"He got up to go see what the noise was, and as soon as he went to the window, the gunshot came through the window," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker.
There was chaos when the gunfire broke out, Julio Delgado said.
"My mom started screaming and said, 'Everyone get down,'" he said.
The boy was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he underwent surgery on his right shoulder.
Julio Delgado said doctors there made the decision to leave the bullet in his shoulder, as it was lodged too deep to be removed.
He said his cousin is shaken up, but is a strong kid with good support who is now trying to deal with what happened to him.
"It's hard to grasp it, especially at that age," Julio Delgado said. "He gets it, but at the same time he doesn't understand completely like, it wasn't meant for you or anything, it's just people shooting around."
On Wednesday night, Police Chief Brian Kyes said they were looking for two suspects in dark hooded sweatshirts who fled the scene in a dark-colored Ford Explorer SUV.
At noon Thursday, Chelsea Police said they have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect, but did not release a name until after the arrest.
The boy's mother, Lourdes Delgado, told WBZ-TV's Christina Hager that she's afraid to go back into her apartment after the shooting.
"Security and safety in your own bedroom, if you're not safe there where can you be safe at?" she said through a translator.
The translator said Lourdes Delgado wants to move her family from the apartment immediately, but doesn't have the resources.
Julio Delgado said his family left their home in Puerto Rico to avoid violence like this. He said gangs have no concern for the others who live in the area.
"They don't really think about their surroundings, they don't really think about the people they are affecting other than themselves," he said.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker reports