A Lawrence Department of Public Works employee who was shot to death while on the job Wednesday has been identified.

Authorities believe 52-year-old Marcos A. Ruiz-Rodriguez, of Methuen, was not the intended target of the shooting, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. He was doing road work at the time of the shooting, Lawrence police said.

Lawrence police responded to the area of Andover and Clifton streets for an initial report of shots fired around 2 p.m., the department said on Facebook. Emergency responders treated Ruiz-Rodriguez at the scene, and he was brought by ambulance to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the district attorney’s office.


Mayor Dan Rivera said in a Facebook post that Ruiz-Rodriguez was a “great employee” who had worked for the city for “many years.” Flags in the city were lowered to half mast.

“I met with DPW workers this morning at the DPW yard to let them know we are all in support of them,” the mayor said. “These are some of the hardest working city employees who often times do some thankless work- pushing snow, picking up trash, picking up needles. To see a fellow employee die in this manner is unsettling to say the least. We want to put our arms around them, make sure they are safe, supported and loved and so they know they are not alone.”

No suspects have been apprehended as of around 4 p.m. on Thursday.

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health said in a statement that it is “deeply upset” to hear of the murder.

“We are truly shocked and upset to learn of the murder of Marcos, father to a son and daughter,” Jodi Sugerman-Brozan, the coalition’s executive director, said in a statement. “We are keeping his family, friends, and coworkers in our thoughts.”