Sandy MaloneWinthrop, MA – A retired Massachusetts state trooper was murdered on Saturday when he faced off with a gunman who had just driven a truck through a home in his neighborhood.
The incident began at about 2:45 p.m. on June 26 when the suspect – later identified as 28-year-old Nathan Allen – stole a box truck from a plumbing company and crashed it into an empty home at the intersection of Cross and Shirley Streets, WVIT reported.
Police said Allen got out of the truck with two guns and fled on foot.
Then he opened fire on 60-year-old Air Force veteran Ramona Cooper.
Cooper, who still worked for the military, was shot three times in the back, WVIT reported.
That’s when friends said retired Massachusetts State Trooper David Green confronted the gunman and was fatally shot, WBZ reported.
“That’s Dave. He went there to save other people,” Green’s longtime friend and neighbor, Nick Tsiotos, said.
Tsiotos said Green probably heard the crash and ran to help, WBZ reported.
“I think Dave kept people alive by heroically dying because this man was deranged,” Tsiotos opined. “He gave his own life, made the ultimate sacrifice for others.”
The retired state trooper was shot four times in the head and three times in his torso, WBZ reported.
Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins characterized Green’s shooting as an “execution” at a press conference on Sunday.
Rollins said the rampage ended when Allen was fatally shot by Winthrop police, WBZ reported.
Cooper was transported to the hospital where she later died, WVIT reported.
Green was pronounced dead at the scene.
OVERNIGHT: Winthrop – Crews removed the truck that leveled a building after crashing into it. Officials were on scene for 8+ hours investigating the crash and subsequent shooting that left a retired MSP Trooper & civilian dead. Suspect was also shot and killed by police. #boston pic.twitter.com/Er0muMk9gF
— KMV (@BostonTVPhotog) June 27, 2021
Two people whose vehicle was somehow involved in the incident were also transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, WVIT reported.
The district attorney said the preliminary investigation indicated the shootings were race-related.
Rollins said investigators had found that Allen had made “anti-Semitic and racist statements against black individuals,” WVIT reported.
She said the gunman “walked by several other people that were not black and they are alive. They were not harmed.”
Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason released a statement following Green’s death that said the retired trooper had served as a law enforcement officer for 36 years before he retired in 2016, WBZ reported.
Breaking: State Police confirm retired trooper David Green was the man murdered outside his home in Winthrop yesterday…Tpr Green spent 36 years in law enforcement before retiring in 2016 #7news pic.twitter.com/QxHaxq14nm
— Steve Cooper (@scooperon7) June 27, 2021
Col. Mason said that Green initially became a Metropolitan District Commission police officer in 1980, and then joined the Massachusetts State Police 12 years later when his department was merged into the state police.
“Trooper Green was widely respected and well-liked by his fellow Troopers, several of whom yesterday described him as a ‘true gentleman’ and always courteous to the public and meticulous in his duties,” Col. Mason said. “From what we learned yesterday, he was held in equally-high regard by his neighbors and friends in Winthrop.”
Sending our thoughts & 🙏's to the @MassStatePolice for the retired trooper who gave his life yesterday, as he was protecting his community. Our thoughts are also with the other victims and their families, as well as the @Winthroppolice Officers involved. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/K8XWAHCB0M
— Boston Police Superior Officers Federation 🇺🇸 (@BPSOF) June 27, 2021
“Trooper David Green more than upheld the ideals of integrity, professionalism, and service to others that are the hallmarks of a great Trooper,” the colonel continued. “We are heartbroken by his loss and offer our condolences to his family and friends.”
Solemn scene: police procession for man killed by gunman in Winthrop yesterday…multiple sources say that man was a retired mass state trooper who spent 32 years in law enforcement #7news pic.twitter.com/hX10j8zjt9
— Steve Cooper (@scooperon7) June 27, 2021
Law enforcement officers and other first responders lined the streets on Sunday to salute as Trooper Green’s body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Boston.
Holly Matkin
