PEABODY — A mother driving with her 18-year-old son and his friend was turning onto Munroe Street Wednesday morning when a car following them hit the bumper of her Honda Accord.

Moments later, they were fleeing for their lives, the car's back window shattered by a .38-caliber bullet.

Hector A. Batista, 19, of Lynn was arraigned yesterday in Peabody District Court on 10 charges related to the shooting.

According to police, both cars pulled over on Munroe Street after the fender bender, and the two teenage passengers got out of the Accord to speak to Batista, whom they knew as "Hex."

Batista stepped out of the dark Ford Taurus he was driving and told the pair, "I know you know who shot up my house." The police report did not go into detail about the incident Batista was referring to.

The teenage son told Batista he didn't know anything. Then they saw Batista reach into his sweatshirt for a gun, and they jumped back into the Honda.

Inside the car, they heard a pop and the rear window exploded, the passengers told police. They drove to Hardy Street, pulled into a driveway and called 911, the police report said. Batista followed in the Taurus but drove off after the emergency call.

No one was injured in the shooting. It was unclear yesterday what the driver and passengers of the Honda were doing in Peabody.

Through his attorney, Tim Maciejowski, Batista pleaded not guilty in court yesterday. His mother and a group of about five others waited in the courtroom for Batista to be arraigned.

Batista was charged with three counts of armed assault to murder, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm without a firearm identification, and possession of cocaine.

Prosecutor Gabrielle Foote Clark told Judge Joseph Jennings that officers found a .38-caliber spent casing at the shooting scene. When Lynn police pulled over Batista in their city, he had a loaded .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol in the right pocket of his hooded sweatshirt, according to the police report.

Police indicated Wednesday that the shooting may be gang-related, but there was no mention of gangs during yesterday's arraignment or in police reports. Police could not be reached yesterday for further comment.

After the shooting, Peabody police alerted local law-enforcement agencies, providing an identity of the suspect and license plate information on the Taurus, which is owned by Batista's girlfriend, Michelle Doucette.

Lynn police spotted the car on Chestnut Street in Lynn and pulled it over. After a brief investigation, Lynn officers arrested Batista, who was driving the Taurus.

Police also arrested Eliezer Castro, 20, of Lynn, who was wanted on warrants for drug charges, aggravated assault and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Castro and Doucette were passengers in the Taurus.

When Peabody police booked Batista, they also discovered a sandwich bag with a white, rocklike substance in his other pocket, leading to the drug charge.

Batista is scheduled to return to court Nov. 10 for a dangerousness hearing and is being held without bail until then.