‘Absolutely terrified’: Mom says her daughters witnessed fatal shooting in Worcester neighborhood

Amanda Mehl was driving home from work Wednesday afternoon when she got a call that made her heart sink into the bottom of her stomach.

Her teenage daughters had just got off the school bus and were rounding the corner towards their home when a daytime shooting happened at 32 Heroult Road.

“They actually saw the guy, heard the gunshots, as they were walking from the bus stop. They were steps away from where it happened, when it happened. Like, they saw everything,” said Mehl.

Authorities are investigating connected shootings in Worcester that left two people dead and forced the closure of both sides of Interstate 190 for hours on Wednesday.

Officers responding to Heroult Road around 2:20 p.m. for a report of a person shot found a man suffering from serious injuries, according to the Worcester Police Department.

The victim, whose name hasn’t been released, was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Neighborhood residents say they heard gunshots and then saw the victim lying in the bushes near a home.

With a shakiness still in her voice, she described how her kids responded.

“Their instincts kicked in,” Mehl said. “They’re like ‘Something’s not right. We don’t like the look of the guy. We don’t like the feeling.’ Ran home, told my husband.”

When the kids and their father walked down towards the home, one daughter said, “That’s the guy we saw,” Mehl continued.

“They identified him as the person they saw running from the house and heard ‘Pop, pop, pop’ and they took off running to the house,” Mehl said.

Worcester Police said they were called to Heroult Road Wednesday afternoon around 2:20 p.m. and found a man shot with serious wounds. He did not survive.

When a state trooper approached another man “acting suspiciously,” police said that man took a gun out, fired a round, and ran from police.

About one hour after the initial shooting call, police were called to Interstate 190 for an armed man stopping traffic on the highway and pointing a gun at drivers.

Police said officers and troopers chased that man as he attempted to carjack drivers and shot at him because of the threat.

But they said the man took his own life when he turned his gun on himself.

“You always think in the back of your mind, ‘It’s not in my neighborhood, family friendly, we have kids all over the place, we know our neighbors, we say hi to our neighbors,’” Mehl said.

“You never really realize that it could be brought into your neighborhood that quickly and that easily,” she said.

She also said the home where the man was shot and killed has renters living there, including a child who also got off the bus at the same time as her daughters on Wednesday.

Less than 24 hours after the shooting, her family’s safety is all she can think about.

“Absolutely terrified. Stray bullets do not discriminate and to know that that was that close, mere houses away, is absolutely gut wrenching,” said Mehl.

Police and the Worcester DA’s office are still investigating.

They have yet to identify either man who died Wednesday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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