Two teenagers charged in connection with a daytime shooting outside a Brockton, Massachusetts, courthouse were ordered held without bail following their arraignment Tuesday.
Neando Mendes and Antwon Barrett-Smith, both 18 years old, are charged with one count each of assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm, possession of ammunition without an FID card and disorderly conduct. Mendes is also charged with one count of disturbing the peace. They were held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday.
The shooting occurred around 12:30 p.m. Monday immediately following a fistfight outside Brockton District Court, according to prosecutors.
Barrett-Smith was observed with a gun just before shots were fired.
Several people called 911, and Brockton and state police responded to the area of Maple Avenue. There, they found Mendes, who was wearing clothing matching a description broadcast over police radio, and he was arrested.
A 37-year-old woman who was standing near the courthouse altercation suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital.
A male suffering from a gunshot wound was also dropped off at Good Samaritan Hospital by a "private party," according to prosecutors. He was later transported to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston for treatment. No information was released on his condition.
Brockton police recovered two guns at the scene.
Following the shooting, a stay-in-place order was issued for employees in the courthouse, nearby Brockton City Hall, the public school building, the board of health building and the War Memorial. Witnesses said judges were briefly escorted off the bench into their chambers until the situation was under control.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but prosecutors said all of the parties involved in the shooting were known to one another.
“We were told there was an argument based on a decision that was made in the courtroom between the people that were in there," said Kaitlyn Burton, who was in court during the shooting. "I would imagine emotion played a huge role in that, with whatever went on in the courtroom.”
The shooting remains under investigation by Brockton and state police.
