FALL RIVER — Two police officers were injured and a suspect was killed during an officer-involved shooting shortly after midnight on Linden Street.
According to a joint statement from Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III and the Fall River Police Department, Fall River police responded to 309 Linden Street at approximately 12:13 a.m. today after receiving a 911 call reporting that a man with a firearm was inside a vehicle outside that address. When officers arrived on scene, they encountered the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Nigel Vaughn of Fall River, outside the address in a dark-colored SUV.
Due to the nature of the call, the officers conducted a pat frisk of Vaughn, and during that process, Vaughn began to “violently resist” leading to a physical struggle with the officers, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and Fall River police.
During the physical struggle, Vaughn drew a firearm and, while on the ground, began firing at police, striking one officer in the elbow and another in the abdomen, hitting his bullet-proof vest. A third officer was also at the scene. The officers on scene then returned fire, striking Vaughn.
“Officers rendered aid to the suspect and a Glock firearm with an aftermarket modification known as a ‘switch’ was located next to the suspect,” the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and Fall River police said in their statement. “The switch made the weapon fully automatic, capable of firing multiple rounds with one trigger pull.”
Vaughn was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The two officers who were shot were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the third officer was transported for medical evaluation. All three have since been discharged.
According to the Fall River Police Department, officers had interacted with Vaughn shortly before the shooting, just before midnight at Knight’s Gas Station on Linden Street, in response to a report of reckless driving and a possible physical altercation in the parking lot. When police arrived on scene, they located Vaughn in the gas station parking lot in a dark-colored SUV with two other individuals. Police said that after a brief interaction, Vaughn was told to leave the private lot.
“Once again, this incident highlights the dangers police face in encounters with armed individuals,” said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn. “The suspect has a violent history and the officers were just doing their job on a brutally cold night trying to protect the community.”
The shooting remains under investigation by the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
