A teenager who died of a gunshot wound in Salem has been identified as a 15-year-old Massachusetts boy, officials said.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said an autopsy determined that Wichai Saksene, 15, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, and his death was ruled a homicide.
The boy was a freshman at Lowell High School, a spokesperson for the Lowell Public Schools confirmed to WMUR’s sister station, WCVB, late on Friday.
Police were called Friday morning to a home on Orchard Terrace, where they discovered the boy’s body.
“I saw the police pull up. I could hear the woman screaming, and I thought I heard a police officer say, ‘Don’t move,'” said neighbor Gumercindo Feliciano.
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Residents of Orchard Terrace said they woke up to the sound of someone screaming.
“The woman keeps screaming, ‘He’s my son, my son, my son,'” Feliciano said.
Some neighbors said they had met the victim.
“He was a good kid,” said neighbor Dawn Brantmuller. “He was really nice to everybody, and he was here in the summers.”
A maze of crime scene tape surrounds the home where police spent the day processing evidence.
As state police detectives went door-to-door, the sounds of children playing at Canobie Lake Park across the street could be heard. Neighbors said it is usually a peaceful street.
“I’ve been here since 1977,” said resident Denise Floriddia. “We’ve never had anything like this.”
