Crime

Man charged in fatal shooting of 24-year-old in Lowell

Bravindah Mawanda is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday in the fatal shooting of Nikhl Israni, the DA's office said.

December 31, 2024

1 minute to read

A Lowell man is facing charges after allegedly shooting and killing a 24-year-old in the city Monday night.

Bravindah Mawanda, 20, is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday in the fatal shooting of Nikhl Israni, 24, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Lowell police responded to the area of Middlesex and Maude streets shortly before 8 p.m. Monday for a report of a person in the roadway, the DA’s office said. Upon arrival, officers found Israni — a Lowell resident — suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

Authorities rushed Israni to Lowell General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the news release.

A preliminary investigation suggests Mawanda shot Israni multiple times as the two men were sitting in Israni’s car, prosecutors allege. The DA’s office said Mawanda fled to his home nearby, but police purportedly tied him to the shooting and found in his home with a firearm consistent with Israni’s wounds.

It was not immediately clear whether Mawanda had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Lowell police, Massachusetts State Police detectives, and the DA’s office are handling the investigation, according to the news release.