BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Covering his head with a hooded sweatshirt, 18-year-old Anthony Lopes left Brockton District Court after facing a judge on gun charges.

Police say Lopes’ case and the shooting of a 16-year-old girl in Easton on Tuesday are connected.

On Tuesday, police were called to a shooting at the Avalon Apartments in Easton.

Police say they found a teen shot in the face and the suspects had fled the scene.

People living along Donegal Way in Mansfield, a mile and a half away from the shooting scene, say their neighborhood was swarmed by police.

“Lots of police presence, it was kind of scary,” said Bonnie Osowski, who says a car in the incident was dumped in her neighborhood. “I didn’t want to let my dogs out. I didn’t want to go outside.

Neighbors say three people ditched a car and jumped into another.

Investigators say they traced the abandoned car to Lopes.

Court paperwork reveals an officer approached Lopes in Brockton.

That’s when Lopes started running, police said.

The officer says “the individual appeared to trip and fall. While falling, I observed a black firearm fall from his torso area and land on the street.”

Lopes was released on bail with a GPS ankle bracelet.

Lopes currently doesn’t face any charges for the Easton shooting.

Investigators say they believe the victim in that case and the attackers knew each other.

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