New England's Unsolved

Mother of murdered Brockton basketball star seeks justice 3 years later

BROCKTON, Mass. — On August 17, 2017, 26-year-old Henry Vargas, a father of two young children, was killed in a brutal shooting in a Brockton neighborhood.

Henry’s killer has still not been caught.

“I cry every single day because I don’t have my son, Henry,” Zulma Figueroa, Henry’s heartbroken mother told me.

On that August night at about 10:40, a gunman opened fire on a Jeep that was carrying Henry and two friends from a Brockton party.

Police found Henry on the ground, dead.

Henry’s friend, seated in the front passenger seat, was badly hurt, but would later survive.

The third friend was not hurt.

Zulma talked to me about her son, over the phone, away from our TV camera.

The reason is simple: Henry’s killer is still at large.

“I’m concerned for my safety. And I’m concerned for the safety of Henry’s friends. I do not want nothing bad to happen to any of them or even my other family members,” Zulma told me.

Thirteen days before he was gunned down, Henry became a father for the second time.

Zulma tells me, Henry’s daughters meant the world to him.

Now, those little girls must grow up without their dad.

Zulma is hoping she can find justice for them.

“He was my baby, he was my son,” Zulma told me. “Nobody has a right to take any life.”

If you have any information on the murder of Henry Vargas, contact MA State Police at (508) 894-2600.