Suspect is held in Mansfield killing
Shooting is town's 1st slaying in years
MANSFIELD - After an intense manhunt, police tracked down and detained a suspect last night in the slaying of a recent high school graduate, the first homicide the town has seen in nearly two decades.
Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol district attorney's office, said the man was being held for questioning after being detained at South Station in Boston by MBTA Transit Police. He would not identify the man because no charges had been filed by last night.
Miliote also said police were still searching for at least one other person who is wanted for questioning.
Police said Andrew Colwell, 18, who graduated from Mansfield High School last month, was found shot in the head behind the wheel of a car in the Edgewood Condominiums complex about 7 p.m. Monday.
The last slaying in Mansfield occurred 17 years ago, Police Chief Arthur O'Neill said yesterday in a phone interview.
Police are still seeking answers in that killing: the unsolved case of a 19-year-old who was stabbed repeatedly in a cemetery and died in a parking lot in front of the Police Department.
"This is the first murder we've had in some time," O'Neill said. Killings "in this town, hopefully, will remain kind of rare."
Assistant District Attorney Cindy Brackett is coordinating the investigation for the Bristol district attorney's office.
Neighbors said Colwell was found in a Jeep in front of a home on Erick Road, about a mile from his house.
"This is just one of those things you don't expect to happen in a quiet neighborhood like this," said Robert Otto, 20, who lives in Edgewood Condominiums and went to high school with Colwell. "Some people are afraid to go outside now because they don't know what's going to happen next."
A helicopter circled the housing complex Monday night, beaming a light below, where police with dogs examined nearby roads, bushes, and trees into the early morning for any sign of suspects or a gun.
The search ended about 1:30 a.m., and yielded little evidence, O'Neill said.
"I moved from [Mattapan] to get away from crime," said Gina Royal, 40, who lives in Edgewood with her two daughters. "But overall, I think that where I live is still a decent place to live. Crime is everywhere."
Family members gathered outside Colwell's home declined to speak to the Globe yesterday.
Michael Connolly, assistant principal at Mansfield High, declined to comment directly about Colwell.
"It's a sudden loss for the Mansfield community, and we just feel it's important to allow time for the police to do their jobs," he said.
Milton J. Valencia of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent John Guilfoil contributed to this report. 