Southeastern Massachusetts man indicted on murder charges in fatal shooting at child’s birthday party

BROCKTON — A Plymouth County grand jury has indicted a 23-year-old Carver man on murder and firearms-related charges in connection with a shooting at a social club in Carver that left two people dead and two others injured, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz announced.

Nicholas Meuse was indicted today on two counts of Murder and two counts of Armed Assault to Murder. He is currently being held without bail.

The shooting occurred on January 24th at approximately 7:21 p.m. at the Saint John the Baptist Club, located at 53 Silva Street, where a child’s birthday party was underway. Responding officers found four victims inside the club. Two were pronounced dead: 27-year-old Benjamin Cowart was killed at the scene, and 20-year-old Jalen Pina was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, where he later succumbed to his injuries. A 28-year-old man was taken to Tufts Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, and a 32-year-old man was treated at South Shore Hospital.

Meuse was apprehended by police a short time later in the woods near the club. According to authorities, he called 9-1-1 himself and told dispatchers that he was the shooter. During interviews with law enforcement, Meuse stated he had been invited to the birthday party by a relative but had pre-existing conflicts with some of the attendees.

According to WCVB, Meuse called 911 after the shooting and stated that he shot someone in self-defense.

CBS Boston stated that Meuse is the uncle of the 7-year-old boy who the birthday party was being thrown for. He and his brother, the father of the child, had a falling out several years ago and party goers were surprised to see Meuse in attendance. Witnesses say Meuse began shooting once confronted by his brother. The brother was one of the wounded.

According to Plymouth DA Tim Cruz, Meuse claimed to have seen one of the attendees reach for their waistband immediately before the incident, investigators only found a single gun — a 9-millimeter firearm with an obliterated serial number — at the scene.

According to a GoFundMe fundraiser, “Benjamin was deeply loved and will always be remembered for his heart, his spirit, and the impact he had on everyone who knew him. He brought light, laughter, and love into our lives, and his absence has left an ache that can never be filled.”

According to another GoFundMe fundraiser, Pina, whose rap name was Buku Tensai, was a beautiful soul who “slowly matured into what was undoubtedly going to be a man of great stature, a man that would take the shirt of his back for you, a man that put family above all, a man that put others before himself. A man of GREATNESS.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James Duffy and was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police and the Carver Police Department.

This remains an active investigation.