BRAINTREE, MASS. (WHDH) - A Boston man who opened fire inside the South Shore Plaza shopping mall in Braintree was sentenced to jail Monday after he admitted that he was responsible for shooting and wounding a teenage bystander, authorities announced Tuesday.
Jose Rodriguez, 22, was sentenced to eight years in jail followed by three years of probation for his role in a shooting at the mall in July 2020 that left a 15-year-old girl with injuries to her hand and chest, according to Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey.
“Rodriguez admitted his guilt to armed assault to murder, possession of a large capacity firearm, and numerous other assault and firearms charges before Judge Douglas H. Wilkins,” Morrissey said in a news release.
Officers responding to a report of shots fired inside the plaza on Granite Street observed blood and broken glass on the ground inside Nordstrom’s before finding the injured girl in a restroom, according to a police report.
The girl, who police say was “simply spending time at the mall,” was taken by ambulance to Boston Medical Center.
An investigation revealed that Rodriguez punched a woman who he accused of being a gang member while she stood in line at the store, causing an altercation between two groups of people. He then stepped away, retrieved a loaded handgun that he was carrying, and fired six times.
Rodriguez then threw away the gun as he fled the area. A K9 team later tracked him down and arrested him.
Upon release from jail, Rodriguez must refrain from possessing firearms, submit to random drug testing to assure abstinence, maintain employment or enrollment in school, stay away from the South Shore Plaza and have no contact with the victim or anyone who testified at the grand jury.
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