Two men charged with murder in death of pregnant woman’s baby
One other man remains at large
HOLYOKE — A woman struck by a stray bullet while she was riding a public bus Wednesday was eight months pregnant, a prosecutor said in court Thursday, as two men involved in the midday shooting were charged with killing her baby.
The woman, who was caught in a shooting outside a downtown corner market that broke out around 12:40 p.m., was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The baby was delivered by emergency surgery but did not survive, officials said.
The shooting involved three people, one of whom remained at large Thursday, Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni’s office said. Alejandro C. Ramos Jr., 22, of Holyoke, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in Holyoke District Court on Thursday and was ordered held without bail.
Johnluis Sanchez, 30, who was wounded during the shooting, remained hospitalized and will be arraigned “when his condition allows,” Gulluni’s office said. According to court records, Sanchez was free on $10,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty on Sept. 20 to heroin trafficking and illegal possession of a stolen gun. Officers also seized ammunition clips and $3,000 in cash, records show.
An attorney for Sanchez declined to comment, and Ramos’s attorney could not be reached Thursday.
On Thursday, a prosecutor said Ramos and the two other men began shooting at each other, with one of the bullets hitting the pregnant woman as she rode on a Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus.
“The infant, who was delivered and needed life-saving medical services tragically passed away,” prosecutors said.
Holyoke Mayor Joshua C. Garcia spoke to reporters during an emotional briefing Thursday afternoon, at times wiping away tears as he reflected on the tragedy and discussed plans to curb gun violence in the
city.
“I want members of our public to every day, through commitment and kindness, through duty and care, to please don’t lose faith and keep Holyoke the city in which that beautiful lost baby would have grown strong to love and be proud of,” Garcia said, his voice breaking.
He said he spent a few hours Wednesday night with the victim’s boyfriend, helping with “keeping watch” over the woman in critical condition.
“Yesterday at 12:38 p.m., the dreams of a young couple had died along with their baby when a man drew a gun and fired recklessly,” Garcia said.
The shooting occurred 90 minutes after police and city officials held a press conference to report on the amount of gunfire detected by ShotSpotter, a system that has been in use since March. Garcia called the timing of the meeting just before the shooting “a terrible irony.”
“Here we have a situation that is unbearable, and quite frankly I’ve just lost my patience,” he said.
Garcia and Police Chief David Pratt vowed action. They are drafting a plan to submit to the City Council that could involve more patrol officers, increased street surveillance, and forming a task force to address violence in the city.
“We’re not just going to sit idly by and move on to the next tragedy,” Pratt said. “We’re gonna make the changes necessary to make our streets safer.”
Garcia said the plan will aim to “strengthen our efforts without sacrificing compassion and our commitment to social justice.”
Asked why he and the chief were talking about these changes with such urgency, the mayor took a second to collect himself.
“It’s just,” the mayor trailed off, pausing as he had several times during the press conference. “An innocent bystander like that, with a baby — it’s really gotten under my skin.”
Garcia urged community members to report any gun violence to police. He said there have been 117 ShotSpotter activations in the past six months but only 14 were reported to police by callers.
“Please don’t assume anything and just [call],” he said.
Garcia said he had spoken with Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
“The governor and lieutenant governor want to see that plan and see what it is that they can do to help offer support,” Garcia said.
Healey posted on social media Wednesday night that “every life lost to gun violence is a tragedy, especially those taken far, far too soon. My heart goes out to the victims, families, and all of Holyoke in the wake of this afternoon’s senseless shooting.”
On Thursday, bits of evidence of the horror of the day before remained at the corner of Maple and Sargeant streets. A large bullet hole was visible in the side of the towering Our Lady of Guadeloupe Catholic Church across the street from the shooting.
Small stickers were still on the sidewalk and a lamp pole on the northeast corner of the intersection, indicating where blood had splattered. A silver pickup truck that had bullet holes in it the previous day had moved down the street, now with duct tape covering up the marks of the violence.
Passerby Will Colón said he heard about the “horrible” shooting.
“Just really unfortunate,” said the 33-year-old, who said he was homeless. “A lot of people just feel like their backs are against the wall. We need more stuff here — more jobs.”
Globe correspondents Nick Stoico and Talia Lissauer contributed to this report. John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com.Follow him @cotterreporter.