Braintree Mall Shooting Suspect Held Without Bail

A suspect in the Friday shooting at the South Shore Plaza shopping center in Braintree that left a 15-year-old girl injured is being held without bail on several criminal charges.

Jose Rodriguez, 21, of Boston, pled not guilty to charges including assault with intent to murder and reckless endangerment of a child. A dangerousness hearing is set for Friday to determine whether he will be held without bail for a longer period of time.

A second male suspect was released from custody, Braintree police said in a statement.

The girl's injuries were not life-threatening, and she was taken to Boston Medical Center for treatment Friday.

Both the town of Braintree and Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said that evidence suggests the shooting was not terrorism or an active shooter event. Police dogs and tactical teams were called in Friday to assist in clearing the mall. Special agents from the Boston-based office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also dispatched to the scene.

At around 5 p.m. Friday, Braintree police ordered a lockdown of stores, advising patrons to remain inside as authorities responded. The lockdown was lifted later that evening.

Substitute store manager Destinee Kimball, 23, answered the phone at Francesca's inside the mall at around 5:15 p.m during the lockdown.

She explained to WBUR that she heard arguing just outside her store, which neighbors the mall's Forever21 and Nordstrom.

“The arguing kept increasing — getting louder and louder. And then all of a sudden we heard some shots fired — seeing people running,” Kimball said. “So I opened up our door where we hide people if an emergency like this happens. And I asked everyone who was in the store to get inside. And we locked ourselves away where we can’t be reached.”

This isn’t the first shooting at the South Shore Plaza Kimball has experienced. In 2017 customers fled after shots were fired in the mall’s Macy’s store, according to a Boston Globe report at the time. No one was injured.

“It’s very scary. I think everyone is still in a little bit of  shock,” Kimball said. “And once we get out of here and into our regular lives and back into our homes, I think the feelings will rise to the surface.”

With reporting from WBUR's Hannah Chanatry.