Suspect arrested after fatal shooting outside Hindu temple in Lowell

A New Hampshire man is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on charges related to a shooting that left one person dead and two others injured outside a Hindu temple in Lowell, Massachusetts, early Saturday morning. Paul Garcia, 38, of Dover, was arrested Tuesday in Lawrence, according to a statement from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. He is charged with murder, armed assault with intent to murder, assault by discharging a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon causing great bodily injury, assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon. Lowell police were called to the parking lot of the Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Temple on Middlesex Street in Lowell at around 4:53 a.m. Saturday. Arriving officers reported seeing about 30 people in the area and that several people alerted officers to two injured men. Both were taken to hospitals by emergency responders. One of the victims, identified by Ryan’s office as Jose Ortiz, 43, of Lowell, was later pronounced dead. The other victim, a 34-year-old man, was treated and released. A third victim, a 26-year-old woman, self-checked herself into the hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and released. “The subsequent investigation revealed that shortly before the shooting, two groups of people had gathered in the Temple parking lot and were allegedly drinking, partying and setting off fireworks,” Ryan’s office said. “A physical altercation ensued between the victims and others who were in the parking lot. Moments after the altercation, Paul Garcia allegedly began firing into the crowd, killing Jose Ortiz and striking the other two victims before fleeing the scene.” An employee of a nearby business told WCVB’s Brianna Borghi at the scene that while reviewing security cameras, they saw what she described as fireworks and that several cars sped into the parking lot. When police arrived around 5 a.m., they sped out of the parking lot. Investigators could be seen turning their attention to a black sedan in the parking lot that appeared to have several bullet holes in the side. Investigators had previously said there was no information to suggest the gathering had any connection to the temple.