Mass. Police Officer Shot Several Times in Shopping Plaza Standoff
What to know
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A suspect was fatally shot after opening fire during a standoff at a Family Dollar in Spencer, shooting a Millbury police officer assigned to a SWAT team multiple times.
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The incident followed an earlier shooting that left a person injured, and officers later confronted a suspect at a shopping plaza.
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The wounded officer was hospitalized in stable condition, and multiple agencies responded to the incident.
Source masslive.com
A suspect is dead and a police officer and one other person were injured by gunfire during two incidents in Spencer Tuesday night, according to officials.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Spencer police responded to 20 Main St. and found a person with a gunshot wound, Worcester County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Travers said during a Tuesday night press conference. About 12 minutes later, Spencer police officers located a man on West Main Street who matched the description of the suspect in the shooting.
Officers approached the man and tried to speak to him, but he took out a gun and shot at the officers, Travers said. The man then fled to the Family Dollar at the Big Y shopping plaza on Route 9.
Officers chased after the man and quickly evacuated the dollar store, Travers said. They also called in a regional SWAT Team, drone and K9 units and the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing.
The SWAT Team then entered the Family Dollar and found the man in a bathroom at the back of the store, Travers said. The man fired at officers and shot a Millbury police officer who was part of the SWAT Team several times.
“Officers returned fire towards the suspect at this time, and he’s reported to be deceased,” Travers said.
Travers declined to name the suspect Tuesday night, as his next of kin have not yet been notified of his death. The Millbury officer is in stable condition at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester.
“I’d like to assure the residents of Spencer that this was an isolated, targeted event, and there’s no danger to our community,” Spencer Police Chief Michael Befford said during the press conference.Shortly before 8:30 p.m., the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Boston posted on social media to say that agents had responded to the incident in Spencer.
Spencer police, Massachusetts State Police and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office are still investigating the incidents. No further information was released Tuesday night.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) posted on social media that Route 9 had been shut down between West Main Street and South Spencer Road in Spencer due to the incident. It is unclear when the highway will reopen.
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