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Two suspects charged with murder of baby after mother shot in Holyoke

Alejandro Ramos, 22, and Johnluis Sanchez, 30, face murder charges after the fatal shooting on Wednesday

Kelly Rissman
Friday 06 October 2023 17:39 BST
Two suspects charged with murder after Holyoke shooting
Two suspects charged with murder after Holyoke shooting (Hampden District Attorney’s Office)

Two men were charged with murder after multiple people were injured — and a baby died — as a result of a shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Alejandro Ramos, 22, and Johnluis Sanchez, 30, face murder charges after the fatal shooting on Wednesday, according to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.

Mr Ramos was arraigned on Thursday at Holyoke District Court and is being held without bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on 3 November.

Mr Sanchez, however, is in the hospital. He will be formally arraigned “when his condition allows,” the DA’s office wrote. Aside from murder charges, “other charges are expected to follow,” the office added.

On Wednesday at 12.38pm, officers responded to a shooting in the Massachusetts city. The office noted that it seemed like “three male suspects were involved in an altercation, during which a shooting occurred.”

A stray bullet struck a bus, including a passenger, who was pregnant.

She was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition. “The infant, who was delivered, and needed life-saving medical services, tragically passed away,” the release added.

Two suspects charged with murder after Holyoke shooting (Sanchez, left, Ramos, right) (Hampden District Attorney’s Office)

The office said that all suspects have been identified; the third “is being actively sought by law enforcement.”

Massachusetts State Police are investigating the incident.

Mayor Joshua Garcia said that a relief fund has been set up for the woman’s family. He said on Thursday at a news conference: “I want members of our public to every day — through commitment and kindness, through duty and care — to please don’t lose faith. And keep Holyoke the city in which that beautiful lost baby would have grown strong, to love and be proud of.”

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