Springfield Police Officers Arrest Four Suspects after city-wide shooting spree, 2 BB Gun Rifles Recovered

Springfield Police Officers Arrest Four Suspects after city-wide shooting spree, 2 BB Gun Rifles Recovered

Springfield, Mass. — On Tuesday April 26^th at approximately 9:50 p.m. Springfield Police Officers arrested 23-year-old Carlos Fontanez Jr., 22-year-old Orlando Olmeda, 19-year-old Janelli Berrios and a 17-year-old juvenile male on the 1000 block of St. James Avenue. The suspects were arrested in connection to a city-wide shooting spree where seven victims were shot with BB Gun rifles.

Beginning at 8:15 p.m. Springfield Emergency Communications (9-1-1) began receiving numerous calls for gunshot victims across the city. The suspects were conducting drive-by shootings from a vehicle.

Officers responded to several locations and both Mercy and Baystate to speak to victims. The shootings occurred on the 0-100 block of Locust Street, the 500 block of Main Street, the 0-100 block of Boylston Street, the 2500 block of Main Street, the 200 block of Fort Pleasant Street, the 600 block of Main Street and the 600 block of Carew Street. The victims ages ranged from their 20’s to their 50’s. Five victims were treated at Baystate and two victims were treated at Mercy with anything from minor to severe wounds.

Crime Analysts in the Springfield Police Department’s Real-Time Analysis Center (R-TAC) located a suspect vehicle on city cameras and relayed that information to responding officers.

Springfield Police Officers located the suspect vehicle and conducted a traffic stop while the car was parked at a gas station on the 1000 block of St. James Avenue. There were four occupants of the car. Officers then observed two rifles on the floor of the car. The occupants of the car were then detained.

Officers recovered two rifle style BB guns, several loose pellets, a container of approximately 50 additional rounds and an empty container.

“This was an excellent team effort from our officers being able to locate these suspects during a quickly evolving situation. This egregious crime spree led to seven victims being shot in a just a short amount of time. These types of weapons can cause permanent damage and I’m thankful our officers were able to apprehend these suspects before anyone else got seriously hurt,” said Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno states, “Terrific work by our brave and dedicated men and women in blue. Our Springfield Police Officers and Crime Analysts from our Real-Time Crime Analysis Center did a great job working together and communicating the location of the vehicle in question and stopping these individuals who were creating mayhem on our streets shooting at people. They were driving around our neighborhoods on a citywide shooting spree and sending innocent people to the hospital. I sincerely hope that our courts will do their job and hold these suspects accountable for these dangerous and potentially life threatening crimes.”

23-year-old Carlos Fontanez Jr. of Springfield is charged with: