Jamal Bazile, in the hooded-jacket holding a to-go box and bottom inset, walked into the Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet restaurant in Brockton, Massachusetts, on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, and shot 22-year-old Joe Araujo to death. Bazile, 18, is charged with murder. Another man, 22-year-old Nathan Veiga, top inset, allegedly planned the attack and also is charged with murder. (WBZ via Plymouth District Attorney’s Office)
Prosecutors in Massachusetts charged two men in an execution-style murder at a busy hibachi restaurant that sent patrons scrambling.
Jamal Bazile, 18, the alleged trigger man, is charged with murder, possession of a firearm and ammunition and discharge of a firearm. Nathan Veiga, 22, who allegedly planned the attack, is charged with murder and accessory before the fact. Both pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and are being held in Plymouth County Jail without bond.
The Brockton Police Department responded to 911 calls about a shooting around 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Hibachi Sushi Supreme Buffet. Officers found 22-year-old Joe Araujo suffering from gunshot wounds in the abdomen and leg. Paramedics took Araujo to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz released surveillance video of the shooting on Saturday. It shows a man in a hooded jacket, believed to be Bazile, carrying a to-go box walk past a row of booths filled with people eating when he stops in front of Viega’s table, drops the box, pulls out a gun from his jacket and fires three times, hitting Araujo twice. Families that were eating around Araujo’s booth ducked for cover and ran away.
Investigators identified Brazile through his “distinct” jacket and shoes, Cruz said in a press release. Veiga was ID’d because he used his credit card in the restaurant.
Police searched Veiga’s home and allegedly found Bazile’s jacket. Officers arrested him. Cops found Bazile and took him into custody after he assaulted police officers, Cruz said. Bazile had a 9 mm handgun in his possession when he was arrested, though Cruz did not say if that was the murder weapon.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said during Tuesday’s arraignment that the shooting stemmed from a spat between two rival gangs, WHDH reported. Sprague said Veiga spotted Araujo in the restaurant, left and entered a car. Bazile allegedly got out of the same car and walked inside the restaurant.
“With complete disregard of the physical, mental and emotional well-being of everyone in that restaurant, he conducted a brazen, indoor execution in front of small children,” Sprague reportedly said.
One of the suspects allegedly bragged about the shooting on social media using a Chinese takeout emoji.
“The first one says ‘I got points. I came up in my rank. I had to catch me one,”” Sprague said, according to CBS affiliate WBZ.
Cruz told reporters after the hearing that it’s fortunate no one else was struck by the gunfire.
“I think you’re always concerned about people getting hurt, innocent people getting hurt, when you’re dealing with different groups of individuals out there who are brandishing firearms and shooting people willy-nilly,” said Cruz.
It was important to identify those involved in the shooting as soon as possible so they could be taken off the streets, he said.
“We thought it was important for people to understand that this was a significant event here in the city of Brockton,” said Cruz. “You don’t see execution-style murders here in the city very often.”
