LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - Cheers erupted throughout a Lowell courtroom Wednesday when a judge ordered a New Hampshire man held without bail in connection with a deadly shooting outside a Hindu temple Saturday, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office announced.
The shooting happened shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Swaminarayan Temple on Middlesex Street.
Officers responded to a report of shots fired, according to the DA’s office, and arrived to find 30 people in the temple’s parking lot. Officers found two men on scene with gunshot wounds and emergency crews brought the pair to an area hospital. The DA’s office said a third person, identified as a 26-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries and brought herself to an area hospital.
The woman was treated and released from the hospital, as was one of the injured men, according to the DA’s office. Jose Ortiz, 43, of Lowell was pronounced dead. He was a father of three.
“My uncle didn’t deserve that. He was a good guy. He was always there for everybody,” said Keishla Acevedo, Ortiz’s niece, with tears in her eyes.
“He was just trying to be the peacemaker and that’s it. He was just trying to stop the altercation from happening and progressing into something more than it should have,” said Cory Bergeron, Ortiz’s friend.
Citing a subsequent investigation, the DA’s office said investigators learned two groups of people had gathered in the parking lot shortly before the shooting, drinking, partying, and lighting off fireworks.
At one point, a fight started in the crowd and Paul Garcia, 38, of Dover, N.H. allegedly opened fire, according to the DA’s office.
The Middlesex DA’s office said officers arrested Garcia on Tuesday at a home in Lawrence. He was charged with several charges including murder and was arraigned in Lowell District Court. He did not show his face during the court hearing.
“I wanted to see him, but the coward was hiding. He was hiding behind the cell. He was a coward because he knows that he affected a lot of lives today,” said Sasha Rivera, Ortiz’s sister.
Garcia’s friends were also in attendance Wednesday and declined to comment on the case.
The DA’s office said the incident remained under investigation as of Tuesday. Officials previously said there was no indication the gathering or the shooting was related to the Swaminarayan Temple.
Garcia is due back in court next month.
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