ASHLAND — Authorities are investigating the discovery of a dead body inside a burned out shed.
Firefighters responded to a report of a wooden shed on fire outside an Ashland home at about 1 a.m. Monday.
The fire was quickly extinguished, but during the investigation, the body of what is believed to be an adult was found in the remains.
All residents of the home were accounted for.
Authorities are trying to identify the body. The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy.
There were no immediate signs of foul play, and there have been past reports of homeless people sheltering in the shed.
SPRINGFIELD — Authorities are investigating a fatal weekend shooting in Springfield.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni says the man shot at about 10 a.m. Sunday in the city’s Forest Park neighborhood died later in the day at the hospital.
The district attorney on Monday identified the victim as 25-year-old Jordan Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was treated at the scene by EMTs before being taken to the hospital.
There were no arrests announced and the investigation is ongoing.
The homicide was the city’s fourth of the year, and the second in two weeks.
There were 18 homicides in Springfield in 2018.
BROCKTON — Authorities say a 31-year-old man has died in a shooting in Massachusetts that left another man injured and homes riddled with bullets.
The Plymouth district attorney says Marco Rodrigues was pronounced dead at a hospital after the shooting in Brockton just before 2 a.m. Saturday.
Friends tell the Enterprise that the Fall River man was a popular entertainer in the area who performed as DJ Marco Polo.
Police say at least four houses were struck by bullets, and another victim was dropped off at a hospital with a gunshot wound.
First responders found Rodrigues at about 5 a.m. behind a closed restaurant after police received a call from a family member.
No arrests have been made.
The death was Brockton’s first homicide of the year.
An investigation is ongoing.
PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. — A search for a Massachusetts man missing since March 10 has led investigators to look for clues on Mount Washington trails in New Hampshire, but so far, none have turned up.
Officials say information on the whereabouts of 21-year-old Porith Stephon Sou, of Dracut, Massachusetts, remained unknown until his vehicle was found parked at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center at the mountain on Saturday.
Searchers received information that Sou might have been seen hiking in the Cutler River drainage on Friday and most recently on the Mount Washington Auto Road on Saturday. Searchers combed the area searching for any signs of Sou.
Officials said due to the immense area, deep snow, and the lack of specificity as to where Sou might have gone, the search has been suspended pending additional information.
NORTHAMPTON — City officials in Northampton have voted to create a committee focused on reducing pesticide use in the city.
The vote to create the committee passed unanimously on first reading, but the Northampton City Council will have to pass it on a second reading. The resolution contains a number of concerns with the effects of pesticides, including human exposure being linked to health problems.
City Council President Ryan O’Donnell will have until April 12 to appoint two councilors and six individuals with expertise in fields such as agriculture, forestry and public health to the select committee if the resolution passes a second time.
The committee would meet by the end of April with a report on pesticides expected by October.
From Associated Press