Confirmed: A Man Was Shot Dead in Reading Monday

Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone’s office confirmed that a man had been shot in Reading today and said they are in the early stages of their investigation.

“We can confirm we responded this afternoon with Reading police to a fatal shooting of a male decedent,” said Middlesex DA Communications Director Jessica Venezia Pastore. “It has been characterized as a suspicious shooting.”

The department later .

Both Reading and state police responded to a home on Lawrence Road and surrounded it with crime scene tape.

Police on scene instructed press to remain on the other side of the street, but scanner reports say a murder occurred at a Lawrence Road property. The suspect shot the victim twice with a .22 caliber weapon and then fled—either on foot or in a vehicle.

Police are looking for a white male, early 20s, in a black SUV for questioning, according to a tweet sent out by Channel 7 News.

Frequent Reading Patch contributor Kara Deyermenjian reported that nearby Coolidge Middle School locked down in reponse to the crime earlier today. The school, which had been hosting a summer camp, locked all of its doors and moved the students to the gymnasium, though everyone still left on time, she said.