Early Sunday, a man suspected of being a gunman was shot and killed by police officers in Massachusetts after he allegedly opened fire on them with a fully automatic firearm, injuring two officers, authorities reported. The incident took place shortly after midnight outside a residence in Fall River, Massachusetts, as confirmed by Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.
The fatal encounter with Nigel Vaughn, a 40-year-old resident of Fall River, occurred just moments after he was questioned and released at a gas station. Officers were investigating a complaint about reckless driving when the suspect was initially confronted, according to the statement provided by the district attorney’s office.
Body camera footage captured by the police shows a struggle with the armed suspect, who allegedly injured two officers before being fatally shot by the police in Fall River, Massachusetts. The two officers who were injured sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to District Attorney Quinn. One officer was struck by a bullet in the elbow, while the other was hit in the abdomen but was saved by their bulletproof vest. A third officer present during the incident was not injured.
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 stated in the release. “Through the grace of God, all of the officers’ lives were spared.”
The confrontation began around 12:13 a.m. when three officers responded to a 911 call reporting an armed man seated in a vehicle outside a residence. Upon arrival, officers identified the suspect in a dark SUV. Due to the nature of the call, they initiated a pat-down search, according to the joint statement from Quinn and the Fall River Police Department.
In the course of the search, the suspect reportedly began to violently resist, leading to a physical struggle with the officers. The statement, supplemented by images of the confrontation from police body-camera footage, further explained, “During the physical struggle, the suspect produced a firearm. While on the ground, the suspect began firing at police, striking one officer in the elbow and a second officer in the abdomen, hitting his bullet-resistant vest.”
The officers returned fire, wounding the suspect. He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, officials said. The suspect was reportedly armed with a Glock handgun found at the scene. This firearm was modified with a device known as a “switch,” converting it into a fully automatic weapon, as stated by the police.
The statement clarified, “The switch made the weapon fully automatic, capable of firing multiple rounds with one trigger pull.” At this time, the motive behind the shooting remains under investigation.
Prior to this incident, officers from Fall River Police had interacted with the suspect at a gas station, located on the same street, just before midnight. Responding to a call about a potential physical altercation and reckless driving in the parking lot, they found the suspect in a dark SUV, with two others.
When police arrived, they located the suspect in the gas station lot in a dark-colored SUV along with two other individuals. After a brief interaction, the suspect was told to leave the private lot,” the statement read.
Chief of Fall River Police, Kelly Furtado, expressed gratitude, stating, “We are deeply grateful that our officers are able to return home to their families tonight. Each day, they serve with dedication to protect our community. Incidents like this underscore the inherent risks of this profession and remind us how fortunate we are to be served by such courageous men and women.”