Second Man Arrested in Connection With July 4 Cambridge Shooting

A second man was arrested in connection with a July 4 fatal shooting of a Cambridge Public Works department employee on Thursday, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan.

22-year-old Giovani J. Arroyo was charged with first-degree murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and a felony count of conspiracy, in connection with the shooting of 32-year-old Xavier Bautista near the intersection of Broadway and Norfolk Street.

Arroyo pleaded not guilty to all charges at an arraignment at the Cambridge District Court Thursday, and was ordered to be held without bail. He is next set to appear in court on Oct. 15 for a probable cause hearing.

Arroyo’s arrest comes more than two months after police made the first arrest in the killing. On July 13, prosecutors charged 29-year-old Rayquon R. Brown with murder, carrying a firearm without a license, and a firearm violation after being previously convicted of a serious crime. Brown also pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Prosecutors alleged Brown served as the lookout in the shooting, while other men confronted and shot Bautista. Ryan did not disclose what role Arroyo is believed to have played in the shooting in the announcement of his arrest.

The district court issued another arrest warrant Thursday for a man facing charges originating on July 4, including murder, carrying a firearm without a license, withholding evidence from a criminal proceeding, and felony conspiracy — mirroring the charges Arroyo and Brown are facing. A person has not been arraigned on these charges yet.

A Middlesex DA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on further details of Arroyo’s arrest or the standing arrest warrant.

Prosecutors have said that multiple masked men approached Bautista shortly before 4:30 a.m. and fired multiple shots. The men fled the scene in a white pickup truck, and Bautista later died from two gunshot wounds.

A pedestrian found Bautista roughly an hour after the shooting and called 911, but he was dead by the time responders arrived at the scene.

Bautista’s killing sparked substantial backlash against city leaders, as residents called for increased public safety measures — focusing on violence prevention. The shooting also reignited tense conversations about ShotSpotter, the city’s gunshot detection system.

Approximately six weeks prior to Bautista’s shooting the Cambridge City Council voted to discontinue the use of ShotSpotter, amid years of mounting over privacy and the technology’s effectiveness.

In the wake of the shooting, Cambridge police said that a ShotSpotter microphone had previously covered the area of the shooting and could have alerted responders to the shooting sooner had it been active.

A month after Bautista’s death, the Council reversed course and voted to reinstate ShotSpotter for a 90 day period while soliciting a resident forum to meet with experts, host discussions and ultimately make recommendations about the city’s further use of the surveillance technology.

The two men charged in connection with the shooting are due back in court over the next few weeks. Brown has a probable cause hearing on Sep. 29 and Arroyo’s hearing is scheduled two weeks later.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.