DA: Murder Investigation in Methuen

Victim has not been positively identified at this time

The Essex County District Attorney's Office says one man was found dead Monday inside a Methuen, Massachusetts, apartment building.

The victim has been identified as Jose Matias-Susana of Lawrence. No arrests have been made.

Investigators have been working all day, but by Monday evening, there were still more questions than answers.

"Everyone out here is just wondering what is going on," said neighbor Raymond Perez.

Tony Conway lives four houses away from the scene and says it was about 2:30 in the morning when he heard something unusual.

"All I heard was, like, sounded like gunfire, pow, pow, pow, like four or five shots," Conway said.

Authorities say at about 10:30 a.m. Methuen Police got calls from residents who heard those same gunshots overnight.

When officers arrived they found one man dead, shot several times, inside an apartment at 5 Phillips Street.

Perez has four kids, and says he can't help but to think of the "what ifs."

"The kids, you know, we all got kids and they're all running up and down the streets," Perez said. "For them to go through this, it will be scary."

Dozens of residents watched as a white sedan and a black SUV were towed from the scene Monday afternoon.

Many say there's been police activity at the home before, and sadly, they're not surprised that it's come to this.

"It's horrible, it's not what it used to be," said an older woman named Alice who has lived on Phillips Street for 30 years.

She didn't want to reveal her last name, saying she didn't even feel safe at her home anymore.

Methuen Police are trying to put the community at ease. The chief said the shooting was an isolated incident and that the public is not in any kind of danger.

Contact Us