A manhunt is underway for a suspect in the deadly shooting of a mother and her 11-year-old daughter inside a parked car in Worcester, Massachusetts, authorities said.
Chasity Nunez and her 11-year-old daughter, Zella Nunez, were found shot to death soon after 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Worcester Police Department.
According to court filings, surveillance video shows the victims’ car sitting on the side of the road when two people approached it and began shooting. Officials say the two suspects escaped in a car.
Dejan Belnavis, 27, is currently at large and should be regarded as armed and dangerous, according to police.
A second suspect, Karel Mangual, 28, was arrested Wednesday night and accused of armed assault, murder, and carrying a firearm without a license, according to police.
According to court filings, the car suspected of being used by the suspects was discovered in Hartford, near the house of a Belnavis cousin.
Worcester City Manager Eric Batista, Mayor Joseph Petty, interim Police Chief Paul Saucier, and Superintendent of Schools Rachel Monárrez issued a statement in response to the “senseless loss of two Worchester residents.”
“An act of such violence has no place in our city,” stated one of them. “The residents of Worcester deserve better, and we will stand alongside our community in sorrow and solidarity.”
According to Dan O’Brien, chief communications officer for the Worcester Public Schools, Zella was a highly accomplished sixth-grade student who had a wide circle of friends and was deeply respected by her teachers. In a statement to ABC News, O’Brien explained that the school has reached out to parents and caregivers to inform them of the situation and to outline the support measures in place to help the children come to terms with this heartbreaking news.
If you have any information, please call the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at 508-799-8651.
