A National Guardswoman and her legally blind daughter were ruthlessly killed while they sat in their parked SUV on a Massachusetts street Tuesday afternoon, sparking a manhunt for the murderers.
Chasity Nunez, 27, and her daughter Zella, 11, were found suffering “serious injuries” from gunshot wounds and their SUV riddled with bullets, around 3 p.m. on March 5 in Worcester, MA, according to the Worcester Police Department.
Both were rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead.
The mother and daughter were sitting in Nunez’s Nissan Rogue when two men walked up and began spraying the car with bullets. Moments later, witnesses told police they saw the shooters fleeing the scene and getting into a white sedan, according to NBC 10 Boston.
Security footage also showed a vehicle similar to the white sedan described by witnesses circling the area before the shooting and taking off after the hail of gunfire, the outlet reported
Police did not state if there was a motive behind the horrifying shooting or not.
One of their alleged killers, Karel Mangual, was arrested Thursday night and charged with armed assault to murder and carrying a firearm without a license, the department confirmed.
Mangual, 28, had “a preexisting arrest warrant” when he was taken into custody. He is being held without bail and scheduled to appear in court on March 12, according to police.
However, police warned the public Thursday that a second suspected gunman, identified as Dejan Belnavis, is still on the loose.
Belnavis, 27, is described as “armed and dangerous” and is also wanted for armed assault with intent to murder and possession of a firearm without a license.
Neighbors in the area say the shooting took place in an area where children are regularly seen playing.
“I was getting ready to run up to the store, and I heard a couple of shots fired from something that sounded like a machine gun,” Michael Mahoney, a neighbor in the area, told NBC 10 Boston. “Scary that you got to worry about getting shot in your own neighborhood, you know?”
The shooting left the neighborhood — located about 50 miles outside of Boston — frightened over the senseless act of violence.
“Today we mourn the senseless loss of two Worcester residents, a mother and daughter whose lives were taken far too soon and far too tragically,” a statement released by Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and other city offices read.
“An act of such violence has no place in our City.”
Nunez, a decorated patient administration specialist, just finished serving four years at the 142nd Medical Company based in Danbury, CT.
Her command praised her for her “wit, social nature, and dedication to duty,” adding that she was “one of the best Soldiers” in the unit.
“Our hearts are broken because we lost Specialist Chasity Nunez to senseless violence,” National Guard Major David Pytlik said in a statement to MassLive.
“I cannot begin to make sense of why this happened and why her family, friends, co-workers, and fellow soldiers have been robbed of her and Zella,” Pytlik said.
She was due to return to service Saturday in Connecticut.
The mother of two also served as a patient safety and clinical quality program coordinator at MIT Health since July 2023, according to the soldier’s LinkedIn. She also worked as a patient access representative at UMass Memorial Medical Center since March 2021.
“Chas was passionate about the health and well-being of the MIT community,” Chief Health Officer Cecilia Stuopis said in a statement to MassLive.
“She was beloved by the colleagues who worked closely with her, and her dedication to our patients was powerful and impactful. She will be deeply missed.”
Tyrae Sims, Zella’s cousin and godfather, told NBC 10 Boston the girl was legally blind.
“Zella was just the best, she was the best, so full of life, such a good little girl, she didn’t deserve it at all,” Sims said.
In a heartwrenching message to the mother and daughter’s killers, Sims said he hopes “they know the gravity of what they just did, they took two beautiful souls senselessly.”
