A Lawrence Yankees lover livid over the Red Sox' 14th-inning ALCS Game 5 victory shot a rival fan to death and wounded two others inside a moving minivan early yesterday morning, sources said.
``They were arguing over the Red Sox game,'' said one source familiar with the investigation. ``The shooter was a Yankees fan.''
Julio Rodriguez, 58, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Woburn District Court for murdering Jose Rivera, 33, and wounding two others during an argument on Interstate 93 in Wilmington.
``It was a night of drinking gone bad,'' said a source.
Two other investigative sources said the 1:30 a.m. shooting was prompted by bad feelings over the Red Soxafter the six men in the van had spent the night drinking inbars between Boston and Lynn.
``(Rivera) was excited because they were winning,'' said Lowell's Jose Cordero, a buddy who Rivera had called during the game. ``He was watching the game and never said he was in any trouble.''
Rivera's girlfriend, Nilsa Lopez of Lowell, said he called her to say he was coming home but she never heard from him again.
After Rodriguez allegedly opened fire, the driver pulled offI-93 onto Route 125 in Andover where the driver, another man who was not hit, and Rodriguez bailed out of the vehicle.
A man wounded in the front passenger seat got behind the wheel and drove Rivera and the second injured man up Route 125 where the vehicle was approached at a red light at Route 114 by North Andover police.
Patrolman Michael Gilligan had been alerted to look out for the van following a 911 call from a motorist who reported ``bodies being dumped out'' of the vehicle, according to North Andover Lt. Paul Gallagher.
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