Quincy Suspect in Braintree Shooting Ordered Held on Bail

BRAINTREE, MA — A suspect in Friday's shooting at the South Shore Plaza was ordered held on bail.

Michael J Spence Jr., 23, of Quincy was arrested in Quincy without incident early Saturday morning and was in Quincy District Court Monday for his arraignment. He faces multiple charges including unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building in use. He was ordered held on $75,000, substantially lower than the $250,000 request by prosecutors.

During his arraignment, prosecutors were granted a request to seal the police report to protect the names of the witnesses. A lawyer for Spence requested that he not be in the courtroom because of identity issues, despite the fact that his mug shot has been released.

At about 7 p.m. Friday night, police responded to a report of gunfire at the mall. Police say the altercation was an isolated incident between two "Boston gang affiliates" that resulted in at least one of them opening fire after bumping into each other at the Macy's shoe department. Both fled the mall and no injuries were reported.

Interim Braintree Police Chief Paul Shastany said Friday night that a gun and shell casings were found on the scene and that three SWAT teams were called in to assist.

The mall was placed on lockdown and officers escorted shoppers and employees to safety. Roughly 200 stores were thoroughly searched by officers in order to identify witnesses and assist people with the lockdown. The majority of people in the mall left during the initial stages of the incident; however, law enforcement personnel assisted hundreds of others with evacuations for several hours after the initial report, police said.

Spence is due back in court March 3.

Image via Braintree Police Department