Army veteran shot, killed near Boston nightclub

REVERE, Mass. (WHDH) -- A man who served the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan was shot in the streets of Boston.

Stephen Perez, 22, had recently returned from a tour overseas, according to his family. The Army sniper was killed near a Boston nightclub in the Theater District late Friday night.

“It’s hard to go overseas, and to come back and get killed. It’s just nonsense,” said Jojo Bollettiero, the victim’s cousin.

Police said Perez, who was out with friends, was shot during an altercation at 2 a.m. Saturday. He was rushed to Tuft’s Medical Center, but died.

His family is at a loss for words.

“His father is devastated. He was very close to him,” said Bollettiero.

Perez’s cousins say they always feared the worst when he was deployed.

“He did two tours, one in Afghanistan, one in Iraq. He volunteered for his second tour,” said Arianna Bordonaro, the victim’s cousin.

The day he returned from combat was always a time to celebrate.

“I got to school in Connecticut and I would come home just when he was on leave, just to see him, all the time because we were so close,” said Bordonaro.

Perez finished his last tour about a year ago. While home, he was enrolled in college and was already accepted to join the police academy in Revere.

Revere officers stopped by Perez’s family home to give their condolences.

A family, who spent months worried during Perez’s two tours overseas, is now heartbroken by a shooting that took place not far from where he grew up.

“He went over there, we worried about him, then he comes home and you feel he’s safe, but guess what. He wasn’t safe here,” said Bollettiero.

It is unclear how many people witnessed the shooting. Boston police have not made any arrests.