BOSTON — An investigation is underway after a person was found fatally shot Saturday inside a rental property on Malta Street in Mattapan owned by Conan Harris, the husband of U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley.
On Saturday, July 18, 2026, at approximately 1:52 p.m., Boston police officers responded to a multifamily residence on Malta Street in Mattapan after someone walked into the Boston Police Department’s District E-18 station and reported that a person had been shot.
According to CBS Boston, officers entered the residence, conducted a protective sweep, and found a deceased person inside the second apartment near a rear bedroom.
An autopsy conducted Sunday by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the person died from a single gunshot wound. The manner of death remains pending further forensic testing, and authorities have not publicly released the person’s identity.
The Boston Police Homicide Unit is investigating the circumstances surrounding the person’s death.
Boston property records identify Harris as the owner of the Malta Street residence, which is assessed at approximately $919,000. The two-story, seven-bedroom residence, built in 1910, is currently listed for $1.15 million. Pressley and Harris do not live at the property.
“The Congresswoman extends her deepest condolences to the impacted family,” a spokesperson for Pressley said in a statement.
The death investigation is separate from another matter attracting attention to Harris, whose real-estate firm is part of a development team provisionally selected to construct a new Springfield courthouse and lease it to the state for 40 years under a proposed agreement worth nearly $2 billion.
On Thursday, July 2, 2026, the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) announced that it had accepted the Massachusetts Trial Court’s recommendation to select the Liberty Junction team to develop the new Roderick L. Ireland Regional Justice Center courthouse at 125 Liberty Street.
Liberty Junction includes national developer FD Stonewater, Boston-based CoJo Partners and Suffolk Construction, according to Banker & Tradesman. Harris is a partner at CoJo Partners with John Barros, who has served as interim executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority since January.
On Thursday, July 9, 2026, two unsuccessful bidders — USPB JV LLC and Springfield Tower Square LLC — filed a lawsuit in Hampden County Superior Court against DCAMM and the Liberty Junction development entity.
The plaintiffs are seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction preventing the state from finalizing the lease until a judge reviews their allegations concerning the procurement process.
The lawsuit’s principal conflict-of-interest allegation concerns Barros, who became interim leader of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority while the courthouse proposals were still under consideration by DCAMM.
The plaintiffs allege that Barros’ position with the state authority created an undisclosed conflict of interest and made the Liberty Junction proposal ineligible. They also allege that the development team failed to meet certain site-control and other requirements contained in the state’s request for proposals (RFPs).
“Mr. Barros is currently the Interim Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (‘MCCA’), a powerful state agency whose Board of Directors include senior DCAMM officials,” the complaint states. “In addition to those conflicts, the Liberty Junction proposal failed to comply with the RFP in numerous material respects, including failure to comply with leasing requirements, and containing inconsistencies on tax treatment.”
Pressley is not a defendant in the lawsuit, and the plaintiffs have not accused her of participating in the courthouse selection process.
Gov. Maura Healey has defended the procurement process, saying the proposals were competitively evaluated and that the selected project offered the lowest cost to taxpayers.
A hearing on the unsuccessful bidders’ request to stop the courthouse project was scheduled for Thursday, July 16, but was postponed after DCAMM requested additional time to review the lawsuit and consult officials who were traveling.
A new hearing date has not yet been announced.
