Fall River Police Department, Fall River, MA — investigating the Aetna Street double homicide
Two men are dead. A third was found a block away, covered in blood, with a gun in his bag. And it all went down on a Wednesday night on Aetna Street in Fall River — a neighborhood that’s no stranger to this kind of tragedy.
Here’s what we know.
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What Happened on Aetna Street
At around 8:50 PM on June 10, 2026, Fall River Police were called to the area of 90 Aetna Street for reports of shots fired. What they found when they got there was worse than expected.
The first victim — Pablo Henrique Rocha-Dasilva, 20, of Whitman — was lying on the sidewalk between 90 and 104 Aetna Street. He wasn’t breathing. He was covered in blood with significant trauma to his face. Officers tried to render aid. There was nothing to be done.
A second sweep of the area turned up another victim. Eduardo Cardosa DaSilva, 19, of Fall River was found in the southeast corner of 99 Aetna Street — lying in a pool of his own blood. A metal pitchfork had been driven into the back of his skull, behind the ear.
Fall River EMS arrived and noted obvious signs of death for both men. Two lives gone. One was 20. The other had just turned 19.
The Arrest: One Block Away, Covered in Blood
Massachusetts State Police troopers assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office didn’t have to look far for their suspect.
About one block from the scene, they encountered Vitor Francisco Gomes, 28, of Fall River. He was covered in blood. Troopers moved in, Gomes ran — briefly. After a short foot chase, they caught him. When they searched him, they found a bag containing a firearm and ammunition.
Gomes was taken into custody and charged with:
- Two counts of Murder
- Unlawful Carrying of a Firearm
- Unlawful Possession of Ammunition
He was expected to be arraigned in Fall River District Court on June 11. Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III made the announcement, according to WBSM.
The investigation is being handled jointly by Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the DA’s office and the Fall River Police Department.
The Victims: Young Men With Futures Cut Short
Pablo Henrique Rocha-Dasilva was 20 years old and from Whitman — a town about 40 minutes north of Fall River. What brought him to Aetna Street that night hasn’t been reported. Eduardo Cardosa DaSilva, 19, was from Fall River itself.
Two young men, both under 21. Both gone before midnight on a Tuesday.
No motive has been publicly disclosed. The DA’s office hasn’t said whether the victims and suspect knew each other, though investigators are working those angles. What the pitchfork means in the context of the violence — whether it was a weapon of convenience or something more intentional — hasn’t been explained either. Expect more details as the arraignment plays out.
Fall River’s Ongoing Crime Problem
Let’s be honest: Fall River has been through a lot. This double homicide is the kind of story that doesn’t surprise longtime locals anymore — and that’s the most depressing part.
According to recent projections, Fall River’s violent crime rate sits at roughly 300 per 100,000 residents, which is around 21% below the national average. That sounds okay until you realize the city has a population of just under 100,000 people and incidents like this keep piling up.
Just last month, we covered a Fall River drug dealer who tried to outrun police after a cop bluffed about having a K-9 — and got caught anyway. And before that, a Connecticut man went on a sword rampage targeting multiple locations in the South Coast area. The region has a pattern here, and a double homicide with a pitchfork and a firearm is unfortunately on-brand for a bad stretch.
Massachusetts as a whole saw homicides drop 11.4% in 2024, according to preliminary data from the Healey-Driscoll Administration. But statewide trends mean little when you’ve got two families getting the worst phone call of their lives on a Wednesday night.
For more context on how South Coast crime fits into the bigger picture, see the Fall River Reporter’s breakdown on crime trends.
What Happens Next
Gomes will face a judge in Fall River District Court for his arraignment. Given the nature of the charges — two counts of murder — this case will almost certainly get bumped up to Bristol County Superior Court for trial.
Massachusetts doesn’t have the death penalty. If convicted, Gomes is looking at mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole. That’s the floor for first-degree murder in this state.
The DA’s office will likely spend the coming weeks building their case. They already have:
- A suspect found one block from the scene
- A suspect visibly covered in blood
- A weapon (firearm) recovered on the suspect
- Witness accounts placing him near the scene
Whether or not there are surveillance cameras in that stretch of Aetna Street — and whether any footage captured the violence — hasn’t been confirmed publicly. That could be a key piece of evidence in the trial.
We’ve seen similar high-profile local prosecutions drag on for months. If you remember the recent bank robbery case out of Massachusetts where the defendant pleaded guilty, the timeline from arrest to resolution stretched well over a year. Murder cases take longer. Expect this one to stay in the news well into 2027.
The Bottom Line
Two young men — 20 and 19 — are dead. A third man, 28, is behind bars facing two murder charges and was caught drenched in blood a block from the bodies. The investigation is ongoing, but law enforcement moved fast on this one.
South Coast has had its share of violent nights. This one, with its bizarre combination of a gunshot victim and a victim killed with a metal pitchfork, is going to leave a mark on the neighborhood — and the city — for a long time.
If you have information about this case, contact the Fall River Police Department or the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office tip line. Cases like this sometimes have witnesses who saw something and haven’t come forward yet.
We’ll keep an eye on this as the arraignment and investigation unfold.
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