In the quiet, early morning hours of February 17, 2022, the stillness of a Methuen, Massachusetts neighborhood was shattered by the sound of gunshots. When the echoes faded, a 22-year-old Black / African American man named Ewdy Lopez lay dying. A resident of Kimball Road, Lopez was discovered inside his SUV, which had crashed into a neighbor's fence after he was shot.
It appeared to neighbors and investigators that he was targeted as he was leaving for work, a routine that typically began around 5:30 a.m. First responders rushed him to Lawrence General Hospital, but his wounds were too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
Ewdy Lopez, born in Lawrence to Ramiro Lopez and Adalgisa Rodriguez, was a graduate of Methuen High School and was working as an apprentice electrician. He was remembered as a young man with a future, who enjoyed playing basketball in his free time. The shooting stunned the typically peaceful neighborhood, with residents expressing their shock and sadness over the violent intrusion into their community. Investigators from the Essex District Attorney's Office, Methuen Police, and the Essex State Police Detective Unit quickly determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence, assuring the public that there was no ongoing threat.
For nearly two months, the investigation into Lopez's death continued. Then, in April 2022, a break in the case came with the arrest of 18-year-old Yanuel Mejia of Lawrence. An Essex County grand jury indicted Mejia on charges of murder, carrying a firearm, and possession of a loaded firearm in connection with the fatal shooting. The arrest was the result of a collaborative effort between several law enforcement agencies. While the arrest brought a sense of progress in the case, the motive behind the targeted shooting of Ewdy Lopez was not immediately made public.
