Manchester police image Police are searching for Timothy Johnson, 38, in connection with the shooting death of a Manchester man Saturday on Chestnut Street. Johnson is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. (Manchester police image)

MANCHESTER – Law enforcement agencies across the region are on alert for the 38-year-old man considered the prime suspect in Saturday morning’s shooting death of another man outside a Chestnut Street building being used as a homeless shelter.

Police said Sunday afternoon that they had issued a warrant for the arrest of Timothy Johnson, of no fixed address, who was last seen in front of 351 Chestnut St. at 8:39 a.m. Saturday, the same time that police were called to that location for a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers and medical personnel found Jean Lascelle, 67, near a set of cement steps outside 351 Chestnut St., suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.

He was transported to Elliot Hospital and later pronounced deceased, police said.

The arrest warrant charges Johnson with one count of second-degree murder for “knowingly causing Mr. Lascelle’s death by shooting him with a firearm.”

Manchester police image Police are searching for Timothy Johnson, 38, who appears in this surveillance video image, in connection with the shooting death of a man on Chestnut Street Saturday. (Manchester police image)

An autopsy conducted Sunday by state medical examiner Dr. Derek S. Bumgarner determined that the cause of Lascelle’s death was a gunshot wound to the head, and that the manner of death was homicide, police said.

Police said Johnson is believed to be on foot. He is considered armed and dangerous, they added, and cautioned members of the public who see someone they believe could be Johnson to not approach him, but to immediately call 911 or a local police department.

Police also ask anyone with any information on Johnson’s possible whereabouts to call the Manchester police department at 668-8711.

Images from video surveillance cameras were distributed by police to law enforcement agencies and area news outlets.

When last seen, Johnson was wearing a tan or light brown overcoat and a light-colored “watch cap,” a knit, wool winter cap also known as a “toque.”

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS A Manchester police officer stands guard within a network of crime scene tape in front of 351 Chestnut St. on Saturday. A 67-year-old man was shot to death at that location and police are seeking a suspect. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

Johnson, who has a “distinct tattoo on the left side of his lower neck,” was last seen carrying a green, “molle-style” backpack, the type typically used by military and tactical personnel.

The Chestnut Street building where the incident occurred is Manchester’s former police headquarters, which they vacated a few years ago when they moved to 405 Valley St.

In December, local social service agencies got the OK to use the vacant building as a homeless shelter in order to alleviate the homeless encampments that had sprung up at Veterans Park and on the property of the adjacent Hillsborough County Superior Courthouse.

Police didn’t say whether Johnson and Lascelle knew each other, or if one or both of them had been staying at the shelter before Saturday’s incident.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Manchester police detectives collect and document evidence on an outside stairway where a 67-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday. Police are seeking a suspect in the incident. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS A Manchester police K9 unit searches an alleyway near 351 Chestnut St. Saturday afternoon following the fatal shooting of a 67-year-old man. Police are seeking a suspect in the case. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

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