Woman and daughter, 11, fatally shot in SUV in Massachusetts; police arrest man, search for another

WORCESTER, Mass. — A mother and her 11-year-old daughter were fatally shot while sitting in a parked SUV in a Massachusetts neighborhood. Police have arrested one man and are looking for another.

The mother and daughter were shot in Worcester shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday, police said. Officers found them in the SUV. They were taken to a hospital, where they were both pronounced dead, police said.

One man was arrested Tuesday. Police have not released any information about that person, but said they were looking for a 27-year-old man in connection with the murders of Chasity Nunez and her daughter, Zella Nunez.

Police said in court documents that surveillance footage shows “the victims parked in their car and two people walk up to the vehicle and begin shooting,” according to the Worcester Telegram. & Gazette reports this. Video also showed a car matching a witness’ description driving around the area before the shooting and then leaving, the documents said. The vehicle was later found in Hartford, Connecticut.

Authorities did not immediately release a possible motive for the killings. It has also not been revealed whether there was a relationship between the men and the victims.

“Today we mourn the senseless loss of two Worcester residents, a mother and daughter whose lives were taken far too soon and far too tragically,” the mayor, city manager, police chief and school district superintendent said in a joint statement.

“Collectively, we ask for patience and privacy on behalf of the victims’ family and friends and on behalf of the Worcester Public Schools as they mourn the loss of a student. There is no place for an act of such violence in our city.”

The statement said that the residents of Worcester “deserve better, and we will stand with our community in grief and solidarity.”