Jose Vasquez booking photograph from 2018.
A 26-year-old man, previously freed after being charged in connection with a double stabbing in 2018, was himself stabbed to death Saturday night in Haverhill’s Mount Washington neighborhood.
The Essex County District Attorney’s office and Haverhill police are investigating the murder of Jose Vasquez Jr. that reportedly took place around 10 p.m. at a Marble Street home, according to Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett and Haverhill Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro.
Haverhill Police, Fire and EMS were dispatched to the home for a reported stabbing and found Vasquez suffering from apparent stab wounds. He was taken to Lawrence General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Sources said the latest violence is related to an ongoing gang war.
“Investigators believe that this was not a random act and that there is no threat to the general public,” Blodgett’s office said in a statement. There have been no arrests.
Carrie Kimball, spokeswoman for Blodgett, confirmed Vasquez is the same man who was accused in 2018.
In July 2018, Vasquez and his brother, Gilbert, both then living on High Street, were charged with the double stabbing of men from Methuen and Nashua, N.H. in a Lafayette Square alleyway. According to police, the brothers were said to have “a beef” with the Methuen man, who was stabbed in the abdomen. Charges against the brothers were dismissed after the victims failed to appear for a probable cause court hearing.
The murder is under investigation by the Essex District Attorney’s office, the Essex State Police Detective Unit and Haverhill Police.