Brian Gomez, a 20-year-old Black / African American male from Salem, Massachusetts, was an aspiring musician with a bright future. Family and friends remembered the emerging rapper as a vibrant young man who was a beloved son, brother, and friend. They described him as bubbly and humorous, a person who could light up any room he entered. At the time of his death, Gomez was preparing for a pivotal moment in his career: a performance for music executives in New York City scheduled for the day
after he was killed.
In the early hours of April 10, 2022, Gomez was at a meetup party behind Lynn English High School in Lynn. At approximately 12:50 a.m., police responded to reports of gunfire in the area. They learned that Gomez had been taken to Salem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds. An investigation later determined that he had been struck by four bullets that were fired from two different guns.
In the days following the shooting, friends gathered in the alley where Gomez was found, creating an impromptu memorial of candles and flowers to honor his memory. The investigation into his death was a joint effort by the Lynn Police Department and the Essex County District Attorney's office. About a month later, on May 12, 2022, authorities announced a breakthrough, arresting two Lynn men, 19-year-old Alan Bernadin and 19-year-old Nathaniel Mercedat, on murder warrants.
The case came to a close in March 2026. In Essex County Superior Court, both Bernadin and Mercedat, then 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for killing Brian Gomez. A judge sentenced both men to serve between nine and ten years in state prison. Mercedat also pleaded guilty to separate charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, assault and battery, and disturbing a correctional institution, which stemmed from an incident where he stomped on another inmate’s head while in jail. For those offenses, he received an additional 90-day sentence.
