Woman faces accessory charge following fatal mall shooting

A 27-year-old Attleboro woman is facing a criminal charge of accessory in connection to a fatal shooting at a Braintree mall, though police say the gunman remains at large.

Police arrested Samantha Schwartz Thursday in Quincy. She faces a single count of accessory after the fact of murder, according to a statement from Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey and Braintree Police Chief Mark Dubois.

Authorities say 26-year-old Dijoun Beasley, of Boston, was shopping inside a store at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree on Jan. 22 when another man fatally shot him with a handgun. Police have said the man was apparently targeted.

Messages seeking comment from her attorney were not immediately returned Friday morning.

Investigators are continuing to look for the male suspect, according to Morrissey.

The shooting sent shoppers fleeing from the suburban mall, which has been the site of previous violent acts in recent years.

Gang members exchanged gunfire inside a department store in 2017, and in 2020, a 15-year-old girl described as an innocent bystander was hit twice during a shooting.

Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros called the latest shooting “unacceptable,” and said he would work with the mall's owners to ensure safety.