QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - An armed robbery suspect who stole a Rockland police cruiser and led authorities on two wild chases was fatally shot by a state police STOP Team member Friday morning following a tense standoff in Quincy, officials said.
The 36-year-old man, whose name has not been released, tried to get out of the cruiser with a patrol rifle in his hand near the BJ’s gas station on Burgin Parkway when the officer opened fire, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey told reporters.
The rifle in the patrol car was fastened in a mount that can only be accessed by officers, but since the suspect was in the cruiser for about three hours, he was able to bend away metal brackets the keep the weapon secured, Rockland Police Chief John Llewellyn said during a news conference.
The suspect was taken by ambulance to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
About three hours earlier, police say the suspect stole more than $300 in cash from a 7-Eleven in Rockland while armed with a handgun before fleeing into a nearby neighborhood.
Neighbors on Brookside Road told Toni Bono that the suspect frantically tried to get into a number of homes and that he appeared to be in an agitated state.
“He said that he got jumped by two kids and then asked to come in and they all said no and then the last lady was like, ‘I’ll call the police,’ and when she said that, he ran to the woods,” she said.
A lottery winner who had entered the 7-Eleven to cash a ticket just moments after the suspect fled was able to provide police with a description of the man.
When an officer later tracked down the man and ordered him to the ground at gunpoint, the suspect said, “shoot me, shoot me,” and refused to comply with the order, according to Llewellyn. The officer then deployed a taser but it proved ineffective because the suspect was wearing a heavy sweatshirt.
The suspect was then able to escape on foot and stole the Rockland police cruiser before leading officers on a chase into Quincy, hitting several cruisers in the process, Morrissey said.
Llewellyn noted that one of the responding officers “forgot to lock his car” as he rushed to apprehend the suspect.
An Abington police officer lost control of his cruiser during the chase and crashed into a utility pole.
Multiple agencies surrounded the Rockland police cruiser near Exit 42 on Burgin Parkway as a state police STOP Team and crisis negotiators responded to the scene.
The suspect was able to maneuver around the swarm of emergency vehicles and take off again but was soon stopped near the BJ’s gas station when a pair of BearCats sandwiched the commandeered cruiser.
The situation temporarily impacted Red Line and commuter rail service and led to road closures in the surrounding area.
Llewellyn noted that the suspect has a “lengthy criminal record” and is known to police.
Investigators in Rockland are continuing to search for a handgun that the suspect was said to be in possession of during the robbery. Llewellyn added that the suspect may have thrown the weapon out of the stolen cruiser’s window during the pursuit.
The day’s events remain under investigation.
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