On the evening of October 24, 2020, a young life was abruptly cut short in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant on Park Avenue in Worcester, Massachusetts. Seventeen-year-old Nawar Dior Jabbar, a male, was found inside a vehicle, having suffered a fatal gunshot wound. Emergency services were called to the scene around 8:36 p.m. following reports of gunfire, but upon arrival, officers discovered that Jabbar had already succumbed to his injuries and he was pronounced deceased at the location.
Friends and family remembered the teenager as a kind and diligent individual who was enrolled in classes at Quinsigamond Community College, with aspirations for the future.
The investigation into the homicide led Worcester Police to two suspects in November of 2020. Messiah Amankwa, then 18, and Diomar Lopez Carrasco, 23, were arrested in connection with the shooting. Prosecutors stated that Amankwa had shot Jabbar while they were both seated inside an SUV in the fast-food restaurant's parking lot. Following the shooting, Amankwa allegedly fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Carrasco.
In March 2021, a Worcester County grand jury handed down indictments against both men. Amankwa was indicted on charges of murder and carrying a firearm without a license. Carrasco faced an indictment for being an accessory after the fact to murder. The arrests and subsequent indictments brought a measure of progress in a case that had left the community seeking answers and justice for the untimely death of the young man.
