Dad Holding Baby Killed In Apparent Road Rage Case
Grandfather, 60, Arrested, Held Without Bail
POSTED: 8:10 am EDT August 3, 2005
BROCKTON, Mass. -- In an apparent fit of road rage, a 60-year-old man approached a young father as he was lifting his infant daughter from his car and fired at least four shots at close range into his head and torso while dozens of onlookers watched in horror.
The 10-month-old girl was covered in blood but uninjured when police found her in a car seat on the floor of the vehicle. Her father, 27-year-old Sandro Andrade, a Cape Verdean immigrant from Brockton, was dead.
Walter R. Bishop, a grandfather, was arrested later Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail; a hearing was scheduled for Aug. 26.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said Bishop had made a calculated decision to "shoot a man in cold blood in broad daylight on the streets of Brockton."
Bishop's attorney, Kevin Reddington, said Andrade had provoked his client during a traffic altercation a few minutes earlier.
"We have a homicide that resulted from a circumstance where somebody picked a fight with an individual who obviously exploded," he said.
Bishop told investigators he was driving his wife to the train station when he noticed Andrade's sport utility vehicle backing toward his vehicle on Main Street, Cruz said. The two exchanged heated words, then Bishop drove away.
"He said his wife was scared, and he said he was angry at that encounter," Cruz said of Bishop. "He said he made up his mind right there that he had to do something."
After dropping his wife off at the train station, Bishop allegedly drove back to where the confrontation had occurred and found Andrade's Isuzu Rodeo parked in front of an employment agency around 7:50 a.m.
According to police, Bishop pulled his SUV alongside and hit one of Andrade's car doors. Then he backed up, pointed a handgun though the open car window and shot Andrade several times, police said.
"He said he saw (Andrade) go down, but he wasn't sure if he struck him or not," Cruz said.
Andrade and his daughter were taken to Brockton Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The girl, Alexandra, was returned to her mother, 21-year-old Annabella Fernandes.
Bishop left the scene before police arrived, but witnesses gave investigators his license plate number. Police later found him at home. He was charged after being questioned at the police station.
Reddington said Bishop, a former Army soldier and security guard, had recently developed depression and was taking two medications to treat it.
Investigators didn't immediately recover the gun, said Police Chief Paul Studenski, who described the incident as road rage. Police said Bishop has a valid handgun license.
Andrade, a native of Cape Verde, had studied electrical engineering in Portugal and immigrated to Brockton three years ago to live with his father, a U.S. citizen.
"He came to work and pay for school," said his father, Artur Andrade, 75. "He was a friendly person. He had a lot of friends. I don't know why this happened."
Karaya
PS - I was surprised noone saw this yesterday.
