Man dies after being shot during confrontation at Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, pond
A man was fatally shot during an altercation with another man about graffiti at a local park on Thursday morning, Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early Jr. and Shrewsbury Police Chief Kevin Anderson said.
At 8:47 a.m., Shrewsbury police received a 911 call from a man who said he was being attacked by another man near Jordan Park, which is just east of Lake Quinsigamond and south of Route 9 off Lake Quinsigamond Avenue. During the 911 call, the dispatcher heard gunshots.
"While officers were responding, dispatch advised that they could actually hear shots on the 911 call. When officers arrived, they located a victim, provided medical attention, and that victim was transported to a local hospital where, tragically, he died of his injuries," Anderson said.
It is believed the victim confronted the assailant about graffiti at the park and took a picture, Early said.
"The gentleman who was shot was returning from (walking his 6-year-old child) to school when he interacted with the man on the bridge. It appeared that the man was doing some type of spray painting. He took a picture of the man, and that started the altercation," Early said.
Anderson said the 57-year-old man was shot multiple times. The man's name was not released.
At about 11:45 a.m., police arrested a man outside a home at 29 Edgewater Ave. A few minutes later, members of a SWAT team with a K-9 were seen entering the home. The house is covered with graffiti with the words "Ganga Gardens," "Free Palestine," "Free Congo," "BLM" and "GLM" painted on its exterior walls.
The 26-year-old suspect's name was not released, but he was described as "known to police." It was unclear what charges he would face, Early and Anderson said.
Throughout the morning, law enforcement officers and vehicles — including SWAT teams and Massachusetts State Police troopers — were seen gathered near a parking area for the Jordan Pond Walking Trail, about 1/3 of a mile away from where the man was taken into custody. Yellow police tape was blocking entry to the trail, and areas along the water were also marked with police tape. Graffiti was visible on the walking trail.
Residents were told to shelter-in-place for several hours while the search was ongoing.
"It was kind of scary, I was seeing helicopters, I saw some drones flying around and a bunch of police officers," Tomas Casey said.
Neighbors described the suspect as a loner.
"We thought maybe he was just keeping to himself, wanted to broadcast how he felt about things, but never thought this would happen," Mike Perna said.
A path that surrounds Jordan Pond was found with dozens of blue spray-painted sayings, including "Calvin Coolidge Crip," and the initials "CC." Neighbors say the graffiti has increased recently.
The spray-painted sayings eventually led up to the bridge where the shooting happened.
Shrewsbury Public Schools sent out a message to the community saying all students and staff at the nearby Coolidge School were safe and the incident did not involve the school. No other Shrewsbury schools were affected.
The suspect is expected to go before a judge on Friday morning.
