Man indicted on first degree murder charges for Holyoke Mall shooting

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The Springfield man arrested for the fatal shooting at the Holyoke Mall back in January was indicted on first degree murder charges Monday.

According to Hampden District Attorney Communications Director Jim Leydon, 23-year-old Kenneth Santana-Rodriguez of Springfield was indicted by a Hampden County grand jury for the shooting death of 33-year-old Trung “Michael” Tran of West Springfield in January.

Around 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 28th, Holyoke Police responded to the Holyoke Mall for numerous emergency calls involving an active shooting event. Holyoke officers, along with the Massachusetts State Police, responded and learned that the shooting took place at the Touch of Beauty Hair & Nail Salon inside the mall.

Upon entering the salon, police said that they located an armed Santana-Rodriguez who was arrested and taken into police custody without incident.

Police said that they also located the victim, Tran, who was suffering from a gunshot wound inside the salon. He later died on scene due to his injuries. Police believed that he had been attending to Santana-Rodriguez when another individual, known to the suspect, entered and confrontation between the two begun. That confrontation escalated into the fatal shooting.

Kenneth Santana-Rodriguez was arraigned in Holyoke District Court and was held without the right to bail. The indictment was then transferred from Holyoke District Court to Hampden Superior Court, where the case will be tried.

The investigation has been conducted by the Holyoke Police Department, Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden DA’s Office, and the Hampden District Attorney’s Office’s Homicide Unit.

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