Jamal Bazile was named as the suspect accused of calmly strolling through a busy Hibachi restaurant in Brockton, Massachusetts, on January 12 before suddenly shooting a 22-year-old man.
A prosecutor said in court that a key piece of evidence is a to-go box the gunman dropped; Bazile’s fingerprints were on it, she said, according to The Enterprise.
“He conducted a brazen indoor execution in front of small children,” Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said in court of Bazile, according to The Enterprise.
The victim, Joe Araujo, 22, was dining in the restaurant with his girlfriend.
The suspect’s names were released in a news release posted to X by the Massachusetts district attorney’s office, which previously released video of the suspect inside the Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet in Brockton.
The DA identified the shooter as Bazile and a second suspect as Nathan Veiga, according to Cruz. The Enterprise gave the suspect’s full name as Jamal Augereau Bazile. One of the suspects bragged on social media after the shooting, CBS News reported.
“You don’t see execution-style shootings here in the city very often and it was important to get that out, and it’s not something we usually do,” Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said to WCVB-TV. “That’s something we did because we felt it was important to get it out, and I believe it helped lead to the conclusion we’re at today.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Jamal Bazile Is Accused of Dropping a To-Go Box & Shooting the Victim 3 Times Because They Were in ‘Rival Groups’
The DA’s news release says that Brockton police were dispatched to the Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet at 718 Crescent Street at about 7:24 p.m. Friday for “reports of a shooting inside the restaurant. Araujo was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital with a gunshot wound to his abdomen and leg.” He was “pronounced dead of his injuries.”
Brockton police “worked throughout the weekend to develop information on the case,” the DA wrote. “Police spoke with witnesses, and collected surveillance footage, including video of the shooting captured on restaurant cameras.”
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s office has released surveillance video of a deadly shooting inside a Brockton hibachi restaurant Friday night.
NOTE: Boston 25 News has edited the video and paused it immediately prior to the shooting.
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A man “wearing a distinct jacket and sneakers, later identified as Bazile, was captured on restaurant video dropping a to-go box and pulling out a firearm, shooting the victim three times, striking him twice,” the release says. The prosecutor said in court that Bazile’s fingerprints were found on the box, The Enterprise reported.
Police executed a search warrant at Veiga’s home “where they located the distinct jacket that Bazile had been wearing during the shooting” and took Veiga into custody, the release says.
According to WCVB, Bazile and the victim are “in rival groups,” and Veiga spotted Araujo inside the restaurant when the victim arrived with his girlfriend to eat. The television station reported that Veiga went outside and spoke to people in a vehicle, at which point Bazile is accused of entering the restaurant with a weapon and shooting Araujo.
According to the Enterprise, the prosecutor said in court that the shooting was “payback for a February 2022 murder” that was not explained.
The prosecutor accused Bazile and Veiga of belonging to the “East Side Boys” with Araujo belonging to a rival group.
One of the Suspects Bragged on Social Media, ‘I Got Points,’ the Prosecutor Says
Two Held Without Bail For Fatal Brockton Restaurant Shooting
According to CBS News, prosecutor Jennifer Sprague said that one of the suspects “bragged” about the shooting on social media. It’s not clear from the story which suspect made the post.
“The first one says ‘I got points. I came up in my rank. I had to catch me one,'” she said, according to the television station.
District Attorney Tim Cruz announced in a January 15 statement on X that two suspects had been arrested.
“A non-stop investigation by @MassStatePolice @BrocktonPolice leads to 2 men under arrest tonight charged in connection with the brazen fatal shooting of a man inside a Brockton restaurant. The pair are scheduled to be arraigned in BDC tomorrow, ” he wrote.
According to the press release from Cruz, the Plymouth County District Attorney, the two men have been “arraigned on murder and gun charges for the brazen shooting.”
The news release says that Bazile, 18, is from Brockton, and he pleaded not guilty in Brockton District Court in the fatal shooting of Araujo, 22.
“Bazile pleaded not guilty to one count each of murder, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, and discharge of a firearm,” the release said. “Nathan Veiga, 22, pleaded not guilty to one count each of murder and accessory before the fact.”
Cruz said his office asked that Bazile and Veiga “be held without bail, and Judge Michael Vitali ordered the men held.”
Jamile Bazile, Who Had an Open Gun Charge at the Time of the Shooting, Was ‘Combative’ & Assaulted Police Officers When Arrested, the DA Says
BROCKTON SHOOTING UPDATE
A non-stop investigation by @MassStatePolice @BrocktonPolice leads to 2 men under arrest tonight charged in connection with the brazen fatal shooting of a man inside a Brockton restaurant. The pair are scheduled to be arraigned in BDC tomorrow.
Bazile “was located at a home in Hyannis last evening and taken into custody after becoming combative and assaulting police officers. He was found with a 9mm Smith and Wesson firearm, loaded with four rounds of ammunition,” the release says.
The two men are due in court on February 13 for a probable cause hearing, the DA’s release says.
According to WCVB, Bazile had a previous charge “last month” for “carrying a gun without a license” and was released at $5,000 bail, half what prosecutors requested.
The video shows the suspect holding the box in his left hand. He strolls nonchalantly past booths that contain other diners and children.
He then stops in front of the victim’s booth and whirls toward him with a gun, opening fire, the video shows.
A longer version of the video shows young children in another booth right before the shooting occurs.
According to WCVB-TV, the victim was shot at “point-blank range.”
The Victim’s Mother Told Local Television, ‘He Has to Pay,’ of the Suspect
Joe Araujo, 22, was gunned down inside a hibachi restaurant in Brockton, Mass., on Friday, and his family wants answers.
“We’re gonna get justice. We’re gonna find who this person is. Even if we stay awake day and night…we’re gonna find the killer.”
The victim’s family spoke about their pain to NBC Boston.
“Who did this to my son?” Ana Inocencio, the victim’s mother, told the television station. “He has to pay. Sooner or later he has to pay.”
“It’s been like hell. Nothing could take this pain away,” his sister Andrea Monteiro said to NBC Boston.
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