Local News
Nigel Vaughn, 40, was shot and killed after allegedly shooting two officers, striking one’s elbow and the other’s bulletproof vest.
A man was shot and killed by police in Fall River early Sunday morning after he allegedly shot two police officers, hitting one’s elbow and the other’s bullet-proof vest, South Coast officials announced Sunday.
Police responded to Linden Street in Fall River just after midnight Sunday when a 911 call reported a person “possessed a firearm in a vehicle,” the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release.
Three officers responded and found a man in an SUV, later identified as Fall River resident Nigel Vaughn, 40, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said officers performed a pat frisk, during which Vaughn allegedly “began to violently resist,” leading to a physical struggle.
Vaughn, on the ground, then allegedly pulled a gun and fired at police, Quinn’s office said. One officer was struck in the elbow and the second officer was struck in the abdomen, hitting his bullet resistant vest, according to prosecutors. The third officer was not injured.
“Once again, this incident highlights the dangers police face in encounters with armed individuals. 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 said. “Through the grace of God all of the officers lives were spared. I am grateful for their service and professionalism under the most difficult of circumstances.”
The officers shot Vaughn, Quinn’s office said, before rendering aid. The man was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, officials said.
After the shooting, Vaughn was found next to a Glock firearm with a switch, an aftermarket modification making the weapon “fully automatic, capable of firing multiple rounds with one trigger pull,” prosecutors said.
Shortly before the shooting, prosecutors said Fall River police also interacted with Vaughn at Knight’s Gas Station on Linden Street. Police had responded to reports of reckless driving in the parking lot and a possible fight. During a brief interaction, Vaughn, who was with two other people, was told by police to leave the parking lot.
DA: ‘The suspect has a violent history’
Quinn referred to Vaughn’s “violent history,” which included serving time in state prison connected to a shooting, the Fall River Herald News reported. In the early 2000s, Vaughn was a high-ranking member of the Mafioso gang before he was sentenced to 18 to 20 years to state prison connected to a triple shooting in 2005. He was also indicted for another 2005 shooting while in prison, per the Herald News.
Body camera footage of the incident has not been released, but Quinn’s office shared multiple images allegedly the handgun, a handgun’s muzzle flash, “handgun firing projectile into officer’s elbow,” and “spent ammunition casing.” Other images shows what appears to be a bullet wound and the torn bullet resistant vest.
The police officers injured in Sunday’s shooting, both with non-life threatening injuries, have since been discharged from the hospital.
“We are deeply grateful that our officers are able to return home to their families tonight,” Fall River Police Chief Kelly Furtado said. “Fall River is proud to be protected by some of the finest police officers.”
The investigation into the shooting is active and ongoing, the DA’s office said.
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