Two Massachusetts police officers were wounded over the weekend after a suspect opened fire at them while resisting a pat down, authorities said.
The officer-involved shooting occurred just after midnight on Sunday while officers were responding to a 911 call of an armed man in a vehicle on the 300 block of Linden Street in Fall River, just outside of Providence near the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border.
Authorities said the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Fall River resident Nigel Vaughn, pulled out a firearm during the struggle and began firing at police while on the ground. Officers returned fire, striking Vaughn.
“Officers rendered aid to the suspect and a Glock firearm with an aftermarket modification known a switch was located next to the suspect,” authorities said. “The switch made the weapon fully automatic, capable of firing multiple rounds with one trigger pull.”
Vaughn was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
The two officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the shooting. One was struck in the elbow; the other was shot in the abdomen and his bullet-resistant vest absorbed the impact. A third officer was also on scene but wasn’t injured.
All three officers were transported to the hospital for treatment and have since been discharged.
Authorities said Fall River police had a brief interaction with the suspect moments before the shooting.
Just before midnight, officers responded to a report of a reckless driver at Knight’s Gas Station, just up the street. The officers found Vaughn and two other individuals in an SUV in the parking lot, and asked him to leave the premises, officials said.
The investigation into the officer-involved shooting remains ongoing and is being led by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office’s State Police Detective Unit.
In a statement, Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn said the shooting “highlights the dangers police face in encounters with armed individuals.”
“The suspect has a violent history and the officers were just doing their job on a brutally cold night trying to protect the community,” Quinn added.
“Through the grace of God all of the officers lives were spared. I am grateful for their service and professionalism under the most difficult of circumstances.”
