Man Admits To Shooting Teen Girl At South Shore Plaza

BRAINTREE, MA — A Boston man admitted to firing a gun inside Braintree's South Shore Plaza and shooting a 15-year-old girl, an innocent bystander, in the chest and hand.

Jose Rodriguez, 22, pleaded guilty on Monday to armed assault to murder, possession of a large capacity firearm and numerous other assault and firearm charge.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by three years of probation with several conditions. Rodriguez must not possess any firearms, must submit to random drug testing, maintain employment or enrollment in school, stay away from the South Shore Plaza and make no contact with the victim or anyone who testified in court. He will also have to wear a GPS ankle monitor and will have a curfew for his first year of probation.

The South Shore Plaza shooting happened on July 3, 2020, while Rodriguez and others were in line at Expressions, and a second group stood behind them. Then, a fight broke out between the two groups, prosecutors said.

"This was an outrageously reckless and dangerous act,” District Attorney Michael Morrissey said. "This defendant punched a woman in line at a store, causing an altercation between parties. He stepped away, retrieved the loaded firearm he was carrying, and fired six times in the thick of the mall."

Rodriguez then ran away, threw his gun, and was eventually tracked by the late police K-9 Kitt, and placed under arrest.

"It is only a matter of luck that the innocent girl who was shot, or any number of others in the area at the time, were not killed by these actions," Morrissey said.