Man charged with shooting, stabbing two college students in Mission Hill pot deal gone bad

Jonathan Chavez, 22, of Mission Hill, had bail set at $200,000 yesterday at his arraignment for an armed home invasion at 11 Sunset Dr. this past Sunday that has left two MCPHS University students in critical condition.

Chavez was charged with two counts each of armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and single counts of armed home invasion and unlawful possession of a firearm, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports, adding at least one other assailant remains at large.

[Assistant DA Julie] Higgins told the court that Chavez and at least one other person arrived at the Sunset Street scene just after 4:00 pm on Dec. 11 under the pretense of buying a large quantity of marijuana. When it came time to pay for it, however, the assailants brandished a firearm. In the moments that followed, the two victims, ages 21 and 22, were stabbed and shot. The assailants fled the scene.

Boston EMS rushed the victims to separate hospitals with life-threatening injuries. They each underwent multiple surgeries with more expected to follow, and remain in critical condition.

The Albany Times-Union reports the two victims are from Rensselaer County in upstate New York. Each of the families has set up GoFundMe pages (here and here) to help pay for medical bills and so that family members can travel and stay in Boston during their recovery.

One of the victims has lost part of a lung, part of his intestines and his entire spleen.

Chavez was arrested Thursday night "with what appeared to be a recent laceration to his hand and abrasions to his knees consistent with a physical struggle," the DA's office reports.

Innocent, etc.