Man Murdered at Galleria Dec. 24

An altercation between two groups of men at the CambridgeSide Galleria ended with the death of a Rosindale resident on Christmas Eve.

In the mall's parking garage, Gary Chatelain, a 20-year-old Haitian male, received a fatal gunshot to his chest as terrified shoppers fled the scene.

At 5:10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, a fight broke out between two groups of young males. Police said one or two guns were pulled during the fight before Chatelain was shot.

Following the gunshot, pandemonium erupted in the garage as panicked shoppers and the two groups fled, police said.

Police and rescue units responded to the scene and transported Chatelian to Massachusetts General Hospital.

He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting.

"Chatelain has an extensive history of drug crimes and violent crimes with the Boston and other police," a police report reads.

Police speculated that the murder might be gang-related and said they are pursuing the shooter.

"Until we arrest the other person involved it is difficult to say," said Frank T. Pasquarello, Cambridge police spokesperson. "We are pursuing leads, and hopefully they'll pan out."

The murder was the second murder in Cambridge in 1999. On Sept. 18, a 30-year-old Dorchester man was shot and killed outside the Hi-Fi Pizza store near Central Square following an argument with the occupants of a Jeep.

Two murders is about average for Cambridge, which also saw two murders in 1998 and 1997.

Police said that Chatelain's murder is in one sense typical of crimes committed at the mal--though committed in Cambridge, parties involved were not of Cambridge.

CPD arrested 199 people last year at the CambridgeSide Galleria, most for crimes related to shoplifting. More than half of those arrested were from Boston, while only 16 percent of the arrests were of Cantabrigians.

Similarly, police responded to three brawls at the mall involving Boston youths.

Earlier on Christmas Eve, a "chain-grab" robbery, where young males stole a chain from a woman, occurred at CambridgeSide. Pasquarello said that robbery is believed to be unrelated to Chatelain's murder.