WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Neighbors shared their reactions Wednesday after one person was killed in a shooting in a Worcester neighborhood.
The shooting happened near 2:20 p.m. in the area of Heroult Road.
A police spokesperson confirmed one man was shot. In an update later Wednesday night, police confirmed the man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
“It’s not something we would expect,” said Brian Piekos.
Piekos said his daughters had just got off the school bus when they heard the sound of gunfire.
“My daughters came down the road off of the bus,” Piekos said. “They saw a gentleman drop some items. They thought it was money and keys. He picked it up. They heard pop, pop, pop.”
“They turned around and saw the gentleman and decided it was a good time to run,” he continued.
Piekos said his children ran to get him. He then came outside to see what was happening. He said he saw a man using two cell phones while walking down the road.
“My daughter said ‘Oh, that might be the guy,’” Piekos said. “So, we decided just to go home.”
Crime scene tape and blue lights were seen outside one house on Heroult Road for several hours.
While neighbors waited for answers, they described their neighborhood as quiet and family-oriented.
“It was definitely unusual because, usually you don’t really see anything like that here,” said Konstantinos Tekelas.
As for Peikos, he said he was still shaken up.
“[The] kids are still a little shaken up as well,” he said. “But we’ll get through it.”
Worcester police said the man believed to be behind the Heroult Road shooting was confronted by a state police trooper after he opened fire. The man brandished a gun, according to police, and fired one additional round before fleeing.
Police said the man eventually made his way onto I-190 and tried to carjack passing cars. Police responded and chased the man on foot.
“In response to the imminent threat posed by the male, a Worcester Police officer and a Massachusetts State Trooper discharged their firearms during the incident,” police said. “The man being pursued turned his firearm on himself and shot himself.”
Worcester police said the alleged gunman was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
After a lengthy closure, I-190 in Worcester reopened to traffic near 7:30 p.m.
The entire series of events from Heroult Road to I-190 remained under investigation as of Wednesday night.
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