LEOMINSTER — On Monday, April 28, 2025, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Officer Mackenson Adescar of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to the area of Sack Boulevard following a report of a disturbance.
Officers Nicholas Rice and Noah DeCesare also responded to the scene.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Adescar and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Dispatch informed us that the reporting party claimed someone was shooting at them with a BB gun and that the suspect was driving a blue vehicle,” Officer Adescar said. “Upon arriving at the scene, I noticed a car in the parking lot of the Market Basket located at 71 Sack Boulevard, with a male individual standing in front of it, yelling. I approached this individual, who identified himself as one of the victims, [name redacted]. [The alleged victim] was in front of the car, trying to prevent its occupants from leaving before the police arrived. I asked [him] to step away from the vehicle for his safety, which he did promptly. I then observed three males inside the car: [name redacted, a male juvenile], Andrew [last name redacted], and Christopher Paredes who was in the driver seat.”
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Officer Adescar asked all three occupants to exit the vehicle and they complied.
“When questioned, Christopher explained that he had come to pick up Andrew from Market Basket,” Officer Adescar said. “He mentioned that while turning in the parking lot, someone was shining a flashlight at them. Christopher admitted to driving toward [the victim] and [his wife] and shooting a gel blaster gun at them.”
According to police, a gel blaster gun —also known as a water bead blaster, orbeez gun, or gelsoft gun—is a toy gun that resembles an airsoft gun but shoots 7–8mm gel beads made from sodium polyacrylate, a substance often used commercially as a moisture-retaining agent for gardening and pot/vase floriculture.
Officer Adescar said that when asked about the incident Paredes said they were just playing.
“I then spoke with juvenile [name redacted], who admitted that he had messed up,” Officer Adescar recounted. “He was unwilling to provide any further explanation. Please note Christopher was displaying disrespectful behavior towards officers.”
According to police, Christopher Paredes, 19, is a resident of Fourth Street in Leominster, MA.
“I spoke with [the victim], who stated he was in the parking lot of 45 Sack Boulevard (Entertainment Cinemas) when a vehicle drove by,” Officer Adescar said. “The passenger of that car, [the male juvenile], began shooting at him and his wife, [name redacted], using a gel blaster. [The victim] indicated that a few of the shots hit him in the face, near his eyes, worsening a pre-existing eye problem.”
Officer Adescar said that Andrew, who had just been picked up, did not participate in the incident.
“I then spoke with [the victim’s wife], who was in tears following the incident,” Officer Adescar said. “She believed the gel blaster looked like a real gun, and she feared for her safety. [She] mentioned that she was hit a couple of times in the chest.”
Officer Adescar said he offered medical assistance to both the man and his wife, but they declined.
“[The wife] expressed that she felt emotionally traumatized, thinking she was going to die,” Officer Adescar added.
“Given the facts and circumstances, I informed Christopher and [the male juvenile] that they were under arrest for Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (ABDW),” Officer Adescar said. “I placed them in handcuffs and doubled them for safety. Officer DeCesare transported Christopher while Officer Rice transported [the juvenile] to the station for booking. I seized the gel blaster guns as evidence and placed them in locker number 003.”
For discharging a gel blaster gun at two individuals, Paredes and the male juvenile were charged with:
- Assault & Battery with Dangerous Weapon
- Disorderly Conduct
Paredes was arraigned in Leominster District Court on April 29, 2025. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the victim(s) and not possess any weapons.
Paredes’ next court appearance is a pretrial conference scheduled for June 6, 2025.
The court proceedings for the male juvenile arrested in this incident were not contained in the Freedom of Information Request (i.e. public records request) obtained by News Link Live.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from April, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
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