The incident occurred just after midnight outside a residence in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III
A suspected gunman was fatally shot by Massachusetts police early Sunday after allegedly firing a fully automatic weapon at officers, leaving two of them injured, authorities said.
The incident occurred just after midnight outside a residence in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.
The confrontation involved 40-year-old Nigel Vaughn of Fall River and happened minutes after he had been questioned and released at a nearby gas station following a reckless driving complaint.
The two officers injured in the shooting sustained non-life-threatening wounds. Quinn said one officer was shot in the elbow, while the other was hit in the abdomen but protected by a bulletproof vest.
A third officer at the scene was unharmed.
“The suspect had a violent history, and the officers were simply doing their job on a brutally cold night to protect the community,” Quinn said. “By the grace of God, all the officers’ lives were spared.”
The shooting began around 12:13 a.m. after three officers responded to a 911 call reporting an armed man in a vehicle outside a home.
Upon arrival, the officers found the suspect sitting in a dark-colored SUV.
Because of the nature of the call, officers conducted a pat-down search.
During the search, the suspect allegedly resisted violently, leading to a physical struggle. Body-camera footage shows that during the altercation, Vaughn produced a firearm and opened fire, striking one officer in the elbow and another in the abdomen.
Officers returned fire, hitting Vaughn, who was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Police recovered a Glock handgun at the scene.
The weapon had been modified with a “switch,” making it fully automatic and capable of firing multiple rounds with a single trigger pull.
Authorities are still investigating the motive for the shooting.
Earlier, officers had interacted with Vaughn at a gas station on the same street shortly before midnight, responding to a report of a possible altercation and reckless driving in the parking lot.
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