A Brockton man was killed early Saturday morning in a shooting outside Dylan's Pub and Grille on Centre Street. The shooting investigation remains very active
BROCKTON – David Carroll was there for his friends at all times – whether it was a call at 3 a.m., or a good morning message hours later.
The 42-year-old man, known as “PuPa,” didn’t sleep often and always used the phrase, “17A – we don’t sleep,” referencing a Route 24 exit to the city.
The Brockton man was gunned down outside Dylan’s Pub and Grille, at 789 Centre St., about a half-mile from the Abington town line, early Saturday morning.
No arrests had been made as of Monday morning, the Plymouth County district attorney's office said, adding the investigation is active and ongoing.
“David was a wonderful person,” said Quetcy Rivera, a friend of about a decade. “He had the best heart in the world. He was just all-around an amazing person. He was always there for me and I could always count on him.”
She last saw her friend minutes before he was killed. Rivera, Carroll and dozens of others were at the bar attending a 40th birthday party. It closed at 2 a.m., and, within minutes, gunfire erupted.
“It was at the end of the evening. There was an argument going on but my friend that was killed was not involved in it at first,” Rivera said. “I heard a couple of shots so I tried to leave immediately after that.”
Police responded to the bar at 2:02 a.m., after receiving several 911 calls reporting a shooting. Carroll was found outside the bar “suffering from multiple gunshot wounds,” said Beth Stone, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Timothy Cruz, in a written statement just after noon on Saturday.
Mayor Bill Carpenter first confirmed the homicide to The Enterprise early Saturday morning.
“It appears that outside of the establishment, around closing time, a male was shot,” the mayor said. “He did die from the gunshot wound. Some type of dispute or altercation erupted that ended in gunfire.”
Carroll was treated at the scene and then rushed by ambulance to Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, where he died shortly after.
Dozens of friends and family members took to social media to remember Carroll after learning about his death. He was described by a well-known and beloved member of the community.
“He was a great person,” Iyana Carroll, his niece, told The Enterprise. “He was a very free-spirited, fun person and he loved his family. He always made sure to tell me to travel and be open to experience new things.”
Another niece, Zaria Carroll, said nothing was more important to him than his family.
“My uncle was a beautiful free spirit who was fearless in every way,” she said.
Michelle McNulty, a friend of Carroll for about 20 years, said many in the city were mourning his loss on Saturday.
“He would do anything for anybody,” she said. “He is going to be missed by so many, but always loved and never forgotten. There are a lot of heavy hearts today.”
Dylan’s Pub is a popular city bar that just re-opened in early December after it was closed for six months for a change of ownership. It is now owned by Paul J. Fuhs, who declined to comment to The Enterprise about the shooting, other than saying it happened outside. He later posted a short statement on the bar’s Facebook page.
“This type of incident has never happened at our establishment. The person who committed this crime is not a regular customer, and it wasn’t random,” the statement read. “We want our customers to know that this is a safe environment. We again are very sad and want the family to know how sorry we are this unfortunate incident happened.”
The mayor said there were no known problems or incidents inside the bar before the shooting.
“We do not have a history of any problems at the establishment,” Carpenter said. “I’m frustrated and I’m angry, but even with our gun violence trending down, we are going to have incidents as long as there are guns out there on the streets.”
All bars that serve alcohol in the city are required to have outside cameras. The mayor said police are reviewing video in this case.
The mayor said Saturday morning that police were investigating leads and he was confident the case would be solved. The investigation remains active and ongoing by State Police detectives assigned to the Plymouth County district attorney’s office and Brockton police detectives.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting is urged to contact State Police detectives at 508-894-2600 or Brockton police at 508-941-0234.
The shooting is the first homicide of 2018, after seven people were killed in the city last year.
“He used to send me a good morning text every single morning, every single day, without fail and would always message me at night as well,” Rivera said. “It was so heartbreaking to not get that message (Saturday) morning. I still can’t believe it.”