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    Wednesday, May 08, 2024

    Police officer, bystander die from gunshot wounds

    Civilians gather along Main Street in Weymouth, Mass., as police stand at salute as the body of Weymouth Police Officer Michael Chesna is driven to the medical examiner's office in Boston. Chesna and a bystander died Sunday from wounds sustained when a suspect allegedly took the officer's gun and fired following a vehicle crash and a foot chase. (Pat Greenhouse /The Boston Globe via AP)

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts police officer and bystander died Sunday from wounds sustained when a suspect allegedly took the officer's gun and fired following a vehicle crash and a foot chase.

    Weymouth officer Michael Chesna was shot multiple times by his own firearm around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, and died from the injuries at South Shore Hospital, officials said.

    An unidentified elderly woman also died after being hit by stray bullets in a nearby home, authorities said.

    Weymouth Police Chief Richard Grimes said the shooting suspect, 20-year-old Emanuel Lopes, was in custody.

    Weymouth is located approximately 16 miles (26 kilometers) south of Boston on what is known as the South Shore.

    Police say the suspect crashed a car, fled the scene, and was later discovered by Chesna allegedly vandalizing a home. Prosecutors say that's when he attacked Chesna with a rock to the head. Chesna fell to the ground, and officials say, Lopes took the officer's gun and shot Chesna multiple times in the head and chest.

    Lopes then fled and fired more shots during a chase. Police say one of those shots fatally struck the woman in her home.

    Lopes suffered a leg wound while being arrested and is hospitalized at South Shore Hospital. He will be arraigned on two counts of homicide on Monday, at either his bedside or in court.

    Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said on Twitter that his thoughts were with the families of the officer and bystander.

    Officers work at the scene where a Weymouth police officer was shot while in a foot chase with a suspect following a vehicle crash on Sunday, July 15, 2018, in Weymouth, Mass. (Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP)
    This Dec. 10, 2012 photo shows Weymouth Police Officer Michael C. Chesna in Weymouth, Mass. Chesna died Sunday, July 15, 2018, from wounds sustained when a suspect allegedly took the officer’s gun and fired following a vehicle crash and a foot chase. (Gary Higgins/The Quincy Patriot Ledger via AP)

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