6-Year-Old Girl Dead, Boy Hurt In Fitchburg

FITCHBURG, MA — A woman is in custody as authorities investigate the death of a 6-year-old girl in Fitchburg, according to officials. A "very active investigation" is under way after what is being called a "suspicious death" at a home, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said Tuesday evening.

Police responded around noon to 139 Stoneybrook Road, where they found the unresponsive girl and an injured 9-year-old boy, said Early. The girl was pronounced dead and the boy was transferred to a Worcester hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

"We are very early in this investigation and it's very active," said Early. "There are a lot of moving parts."

The response took place as a heavy police response occurred at the nearby Sizer School earlier Tuesday. The school on Tuesday afternoon posted on its Facebook page that a "False alarm today at Sizer School caused a large police presence. Everyone is SAFE!"

State and local police rushed to the Sizer School as social media reports of an active shooter surfaced online. Police searched the charter school, but were seen clearing out soon after. The school situation was not related to the death investigation, police said.

"We want to get out that this was not a random act, and the public is not in danger," Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest Martineau said. "And speaking to the threats of violence on social media, it is not connected to anything on social media."

Fitchburg State University sent an alert of a "large police presence" but said there was no known threat to the campus, which is just 3 miles from the scene at Stoneybrook Road.

The Sentinel and Enterprise reported that Shana Pedroza was arrested at 2:32 p.m., and she is listed as a homeowner at 139 Stoneybrook Road.

Timothy Shea, an Ayer Fire Department lieutenant, reported that state and local police were called to an incident at 139 Stoneybrook Road around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. At 1:15 p.m., state police reported that the Air Wing, K9 unit and crime scene services, and detectives from the Worcester District Attorney's office were called in.

The State Police Air Wing, K9, and other units responded to assist the local police department, which called the afternoon shift in early.

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