A Springfield police officer who was shot while on his way to work late last night is expected to recover. He was seriously injured and taken to Baystate Medical Center. Additionally, detectives were shot at on College Street and an unmarked cruiser was targeted on State Street.
According to a police statement, “around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday Detectives in the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit were on an unrelated investigation on College Street when they were shot at by individuals in a Honda Civic.
About two minutes later as assisting Detectives were trying to locate the Civic, occupants of a Jeep Cherokee began firing at an unmarked cruiser with an AR-15 style rifle and other firearm(s) near the intersection of State Street and Hunter Place. The shooter(s) struck the cruiser approximately five times, but the officers were not hit. The shooter(s) then turned their attention to an officer who came across the shooting on his way into work. The officer drove and stopped his car on the 600 block of State Street. Our Detectives and a Squad Supervisor rushed him to Baystate. He was shot in the face and the leg.
The officer has been a Springfield Police Officer for seven years. He was an officer in Central Massachusetts prior to that. In 2023, he was a recipient of the Department’s highest honor, the Medal of Valor. He suffered serious injuries, but they are believed to be non-life threatening. This morning, he was transferred to a Boston area hospital. Out of respect to his family, we are not releasing his name at this time, and we ask our media partners not to do so either.
As officers continued to search for the suspect vehicles, members of the Springfield Police Detective Bureau located the Civic in the area of Riverview Terrace as the three occupants were taken into custody on the I-91 on ramp. The driver struck two DOT workers. One worker was seriously injured. Four firearms were recovered. Two of the firearms had Glock Switches attached, making those firearm fully automatic.”
Seven suspects were arrested and seven illegal guns were seized, including an AR-15 style rifle.