SALEM, Mass. − An 18-year-old freshman on the Salem State men’s basketball team was fatally shot while driving his car early Wednesday morning in Massachusetts.

Police found Carl-Hens Beliard inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds after they received a call for a report of a shooting in Salem, roughly 16 miles north of Boston. He was taken to Salem Hospital and pronounced deceased.

A preliminary investigation found the shooting was not a random act of violence nor an ongoing threat to the Salem State University community, according to a joint statement from Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker, Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller and Salem State University President John Keenan.

“This senseless gun violence is tragic not only for the victim’s family but for the SSU community and beyond,” Tucker said.  

Gun violence:4-year-old Rhode Island boy shot in head on Halloween; arrested dad says it was accident

The shooting is being investigated by state police detectives with the Essex County District Attorney’s office and the Salem Police Department. 

“As both Salem State president and a college dad, this is the most difficult news to share,” said Keenan, who added Beliard was shot while driving his vehicle.

Beliard a former Massachusetts state champion

Beliard, a freshman at Salem State, won a state championship during his high school career with nearby North High School in Worcester.

In a letter to the North High community Wednesday, principal Sam FanFan said it was a “devastating loss to our community.

“Many students and staff learned about this tragic news this morning,” FanFan wrote. “Our counselors at the school have been here to talk and support anyone who needs help processing what has happened.” 

Beliard was the lone senior on North High’s boys’ basketball team that became the first public school from Worcester to win a Division 1 state title.