MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - Authorities are turning to the public for help tracking down a 30-year-old Everett man who is accused of fatally shooting a woman during an armed robbery at a home in Malden on Tuesday morning, officials said.
Officers were called to the home on Fairmont Street just before 7:20 p.m. after receiving reports of a robbery and a shooting, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The woman who made the initial 911 call told authorities that the man who shot the victim and took off toward Boston Street was named Brian Butler.
When they arrived at the scene, first responders found Erin Fitzgibbons, 30, in an upstairs bedroom suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
At a press conference later in the evening, Ryan confirmed that Fitzgibbons was a guest of the homeowner and that she appears to have no connection to Butler.
The homeowner told investigators she was in her kitchen making coffee when Butler, who is a friend of her son, appeared at the back door with a gun. She said at first she thought it was a joke until Butler fired the gun and shattered the window on the door.
The homeowner, her husband, and son all made it onto the front porch safely believing Fitzgibbons was behind them. They did not realize she was not there until another gunshot went off inside the house, Ryan said.
That is when Butler fled the area with the gun and some property.
Though he has not yet been arrested, police say there is no threat to the community.
He is described as being 6 feet, 3 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes and weighing about 180 pounds. He has a tattoo that reads “Jaidyn” on his right forearm and a Celtic cross on his left leg.
Butler was last known to be staying at a home on Vaughn Street in Everett.
This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.
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