STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
Suspect arrested on accessory charge in connection with Waterbury homicide
WATERBURY, Vermont (Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024) — A Springfield, Massachusetts, man is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, to answer a charge of being an accessory to a fatal shooting last week in Waterbury.
Samuel Niyonsenga, 18, is due for arraignment at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Barre on a charge of accessory to second-degree murder. He is accused of participating in the incident at the Kneeland Flats Trailer Park during which Shawn Spiker, 34, of Croydon, New Hampshire, was fatally shot, and Michael S. Perry, 57, of Waterbury was wounded.
Niyonsenga was ordered held without bail pending arraignment. He is currently incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury. No mug shot is available at this time.
Additional information is contained in the affidavit of probable cause, which will be filed with the court and made public following arraignment. Members of the media should contact the court to confirm details of the hearing.
***Update No. 3, 2:55 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024***
Early Saturday, Oct. 19, the Vermont State Police arrested an individual in relation to the shooting at the Kneeland Flats Trailer Park in Waterbury. On 10/14/24 Shawn Spiker was shot and killed, and Michael Perry was shot and wounded inside a trailer at the trailer park.
State Police arrested Fabrice Rumama, 20, of Springfield, Massachusetts, in connection with the shooting and killing of Shawn Spiker. Rumama is charged with second-degree murder. A judge ordered Rumama jailed without bail pending arraignment, which is expected to occur Monday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m., in the Criminal Division of Vermont Superior Court in Barre.
No one has been charged with the shooting of Michael Perry at this time. The investigation is ongoing.
No additional information is available at this time. The affidavit of probable cause will be filed with the court and made public following Rumama’s arraignment. Members of the media should contact the court to confirm details of the hearing.
***Update No. 2, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024***
The investigation into Monday’s shooting in Waterbury that left one man dead and another critically injured continued throughout the day Tuesday.
An autopsy was completed at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington. The deceased victim is identified as Shawn Spiker, 34, of Croydon, New Hampshire. The autopsy determined his cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death is homicide.
The surviving victim is identified as Michael S. Perry, 57, of Waterbury. As of Tuesday afternoon, his conditions remained stable at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.
Investigators have completed processing of the crime scene and continue to speak with relevant parties to this incident and area residents. No one is in custody. The state police asks that anyone with information that could assist in this case contact VSP’s Berlin Barracks at 802-229-9191 or provide an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
No additional details are currently available. The Vermont State Police will continue providing updates as developments warrant.
***Update No. 1, 2:10 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, 2024***
Capt. Jeremy Hill, commander of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, will be available to discuss this case with members of the media at 4 p.m. Monday at Department of Public Safety headquarters, 45 State Dr., Waterbury.
Members of the media who wish to attend are asked to RSVP to the state police public information officer, Adam Silverman, at adam.silverman@vermont.gov.
***Initial news release, 9:10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14, 2024***
The Vermont State Police is investigating a shooting in Waterbury that left one man dead and a second with critical injuries.
The investigation began at about 12:45 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, when the state police received a call reporting a shooting at a home in the Kneeland Flats Trailer Park. Responding troopers located the victims on scene. The man with critical injuries was brought by ambulance to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington for treatment.
Preliminary investigation by detectives indicates this shooting was an isolated, targeted event. No one is currently in custody.
This investigation is in its initial phase and involves members of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Crime Scene Search Team, Field Force Division and Victim Services Unit.
Following processing of the scene by CSST, the victim’s body will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and provide confirmation of identity. The names of those involved will be released following further investigation and notification of relatives.
Anyone with information that could assist investigators in this case should call the Vermont State Police in Berlin at 802-229-9191 or submit an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
No further information is available at this time. The state police will provide updates as the investigation continues.
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