Investigators ID man fatally shot in Haverhill Thursday night

HAVERHILL, Mass. - Police are searching for a gunman after one person was shot to death in Haverhill on Thursday night.

Officers responded to reports of a person shot on the corner of Washington and Shepard streets in Haverhill at around 5:08 p.m.

The victim has been identified as 20-year-old Nike Colon of Haverhill.

Neighbors say they heard the gunfire, and the massive police response remained on the scene into early Friday morning.

"I heard five shots, looked out the window to make sure there was no one in the street," said Bernie Chase, a neighbor. "And saw the white pickup take off toward Essex blood down the side of the passenger door."

A white truck the victim was in had been abandoned at City Hall, and Melissa Fraser and her sister saw the blood-stained pick-up drive by them.

"My sister said look there is blood down the passenger side of the truck and there was somebody slumped over on the side," said Fraser.

Police put up crime scene tape, blocking off a large area. Bullet holes are visible on the outside wall of one of the buildings.

The incident remains under investigation by Haverhill Police and Essex State Police Detectives.

This is the second deadly shooting in Haverhill this month. The first claimed the life of 40-year-old Jeffery Larkin on Grand Avenue. According to police, that murder was not random.

Cox Media Group