Freshman basketball player shot to death days before first game for Salem State University

A Massachusetts basketball star who helped his high school win the state championship was shot to death days before his first game as a college freshman – and a suspect has been arrested in the killing, which officials said does not appear to be random.

Salem State University freshman Carl-Hens Beliard, 18, was found with gunshot wounds inside a vehicle at around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. He was rushed to Salem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“This does not appear to be a random act of violence or that there is any ongoing threat to the SSU community,” Salem police stated.

That night, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office announced that Missael Pena Canela, also 18, of Salem, was arrested on a murder charge, the Boston Globe reported.

Details about how he was identified as a suspect have not been released.

“This senseless gun violence is tragic not only for the victim’s family but for the SSU community and beyond,” Tucker said in a statement.

University President John Keenan expressed his sorrow over the senseless death, which occurred as revelers had crowded the city for its Halloween celebration – and days before Beliard was to play his first college hoops game.

“As both the Salem State president and a college dad, this tragedy is heartbreaking for all in our community and every parent’s worst nightmare,” he said in a release.

The shooting took place across from a parking lot near the school’s athletics facilities, the Boston Globe reported.

“He was such a good kid,” Beliard’s mother, Altagrace Beliard, told WHDH.

She ​said basketball had been his passion since he was just 2 years old and that he dreamed of becoming a star.“He never gave up. No matter how hard it was, he kept pushing himself,” the grieving mom said.

Belliard, a forward on the men’s basketball team, was a member of Worcester’s North High School varsity boys basketball team, which was honored in May by Worcester Mayor Joseph Pettey for winning the Division 1 State Championship.

The team defeated Needham 73-64 in March to claim the title after a 24-2 season, according to the​ Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Beliard, the team’s only senior, said at a rally celebrating the victory that the championship felt “like a dream come true.”

“​Ever since I started playing basketball, I always wanted to win a championship. It’s an amazing feeling,” he told the Telegram. “We have a lot of chemistry on the team and that’s how we got so far, that’s why we’re here right now.

“We hang out outside of basketball. We’re all playing basketball. It’s really like a brotherhood,” he added.

The 6-foot-5 forward told the paper he planned to study exercise science in college and eventually pursue a doctorate in physical therapy. He also spoke of the team’s camaraderie on and off the court.

The young man also made the high school’s honor roll in the second quarter of his senior year, according to the Boston Globe.

Al Pettway, Worcester’s North High School dean of students and boys basketball coach, shared his memories of Beliard on Wednesday afternoon.

“He was a great kid, smart, smart student, he had a smile that would just brighten up any room when he would open his mouth, so we lost a really, really good one today, unfortunately,” Pettway said, according to the Globe.

“I had just spoken to him about a month ago, he was excited about school, enjoying himself, he sent me his basketball schedule so I was excited about going to watch him play,” he said.

“College basketball starts very shortly, so I was really excited about going to see him play in uniform, and unfortunately that’s not gonna happen,” Pettway added.

He said it was tough to inform Beliard’s former teammates about his death.

“They were in shock. They thought I was talking about a different Carl. They repeated several times, ‘Which Carl?’ And I kind of reinforced to them that it was our Carl,” Pettway said, WHDH reported.

Massachusetts Gov.  Gov. Maura Healey also spoke about the loss, telling reporters that “it’s incredibly sad. Heartbreaking.”

Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo described the shooting as a terrible act of violence.

“Our hearts go out to the Beliard family and to the Salem State University community,” he said in a statement.

Worcester Mayor Joe Petty said he was “heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss.”

“Carl was a hardworking, kind individual whose life was taken too soon,” he wrote on Facebook.

“It is every parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child. As a father of three, I simply cannot imagine the pain that the Carl’s family is going through. My sincere condolences and thoughts are with the family at this time. My heart goes out to Carl’s family, teammates, and friends,” he added.

With Post Wires