REVERE, Mass. — Police arrested a man accused of fatally shooting two people and severely injuring a third in a Revere apartment on Thursday night.
Michael DeLeon, 36, of Lynn was arrested in Quincy and charged with two counts of murder. He is being held without bail at the Revere Police Department until his arraignment in Chelsea District Court on Monday.
Thirty-five-year-old mother of three Cristy Johnson was killed, as well as 66-year-old Peter Pitari, who was retired and beloved by neighbors who called him "Pops."
Pitari, Johnson and Johnson's boyfriend were shot inside Pitari's first-floor apartment at 70 Waite St., shortly before 8 p.m. Johnson's boyfriend was severely injured but is expected to survive.
"He's a really good guy, very good to people," said neighbor and friend Diane Champigny of Pitari. "Too good to people that I think he let people into his house that obviously weren't the right people."
Cristy Johnson's cousin, Dee Johnson, said Cristy had been going through a hard time, but she was trying to get her life back on track.
"She was an amazing person with everything (she) has struggled with," Dee Johnson said in a message to FOX25. "She had so much love and life inside her, and to have this happen to her in such a violent way, there's no words to describe it."
Officials have not yet revealed what led up to the violence.
Champigny told FOX25 she heard Johnson's boyfriend screaming for help before she and her kids called 911.
"You think you're okay in your own home, and some crazy lunatic shoots people in the face," said Diane Champigny, who lives in the building. "I'm just glad they caught him, because I was afraid to go out and leave my house today."
Cox Media Group
