NEW BEDFORD - The victim of today's shooting on South First Street in the City of New Bedford died at Rhode Island Hospital late this evening.

The victim has been identified as 18-year-old Brad Lourenco, of New Bedford.

Lourenco, an aspiring rapper, had previously been arrested twice in 24 hours just two weeks ago.

At around 2:30 pm Monday, New Bedford Police were dispatched to a park near the intersection of South First Street and Blackmer Street for a reported shooting. When first responders arrived, they located the victim and rushed him to Rhode Island Hospital, where he remained in critical condition for several hours before perishing late this evening.

Shortly after the shooting, New Bedford Police arrested two city men in connection to the incident. Ivan Fontanez, Jr., 20, and Keeland Rose, 23, are both charged at this time with assault and battery by discharge of a firearm, carrying an illegal firearm, carrying a loaded illegal firearm and illegal discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

Rose was charged in 2014 for his role in the shooting of a New Bedford man.

Both defendants will be arraigned tomorrow morning in New Bedford District Court.

The active and ongoing investigation is being coordinated by Homicide Unit Prosecutors from this office and is being jointly conducted by New Bedford Police and Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the district attorney's office.

This marks the third homicide in New Bedford so far in 2017, matching the total in the city for all of 2016.

 

 

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