A house party on Westford Street in Lowell, Massachusetts turned deadly in the hours before Thanksgiving 2023. On November 22, 2023, 19-year-old Sakdara Khoeun was shot during the gathering. Friends transported him to a local hospital, but he was pronounced dead later that day. An autopsy determined a single gunshot wound to the abdomen was the cause of death.

Lowell Police and Massachusetts State Police identified 19-year-old Dustin Defrietas of Lowell as a suspect and secured an arrest warrant charging him with assault and battery with a firearm; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury; possession of a firearm; and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling. Defrietas was located on November 23, 2023 at an Amtrak station in Stockton, California, and taken into custody; he was transported back to Massachusetts. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has jurisdiction as the investigation continues.

If anyone attended that party or has information about what happened that night, please come forward.