On a winter afternoon, the bustling atmosphere of the South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts was shattered by a sudden act of violence. It was January 22, 2022, and 26-year-old Dijoun Beasley, a Black / African American man from Dorchester, was spending the day at the mall with his girlfriend and a three-year-old in a stroller. While inside the Forever 21 store, what began as a seemingly ordinary shopping trip took a tragic and fatal turn.
A man, later identified as 19-year-old Julius Hammond-Desir of Maynard, approached Beasley. Surveillance footage reportedly showed the two men exchanging words before Hammond-Desir revealed a handgun that was concealed under his shirt. As Beasley turned to walk away, he was shot. The single gunshot caused chaos, leading to a massive police response as shoppers fled or sheltered in place. Beasley was rushed to a Boston hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he ultimately succumbed to his wounds.
The investigation into the death of Dijoun Beasley quickly launched a manhunt for the shooter, who had fled the scene immediately after the incident. Less than a week later, on January 27, authorities made their first arrest in the case. Samantha Schwartz, a 27-year-old woman from Attleboro, was taken into custody in Quincy. She was not the shooter but was charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder and with carrying a firearm. Prosecutors stated that in the days following the shooting, Schwartz did not return home, moved between various locations, and had a history of missing court dates. Her arrest was a significant step, but the individual who pulled the trigger remained at large.
The search for the primary suspect concluded after a manhunt that lasted over two weeks. On February 16, 2022, a team of Braintree, Boston, and Massachusetts State Police officers located and arrested Julius Hammond-Desir in Dorchester. He was charged with the murder of Dijoun Beasley. At his arraignment, Hammond-Desir pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. The case against him proceeded through the justice system, culminating in a trial where a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in October 2024. Subsequently, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Samantha Schwartz had been indicted on charges of accessory after the fact of murder and carrying a firearm.
