WINTHROP — A retired Massachusetts State Police trooper was one of two people killed by a gunman in the Boston suburb of Winthrop, State Police Col. Christopher Mason said on Sunday.
Mason identified him as David L. Green, who he says retired from state police in 2016 and worked in law enforcement for nearly 40 years.
“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,” Mason said in an emailed statement. “From what we learned yesterday, he was held in equally-high regard by his neighbors and friends in Winthrop.”
The Suffolk District Attorney’s Office identified the second victim, a woman, as Ramona Cooper, 60, of Winthrop.
Authorities say a man shot Green and Cooper after emerging from a truck he stole from a plumbing and drain company and crashed into a building on Saturday. Mason described the two as “innocent bystanders” and said Green was shot outside his home.
Neither the woman nor the suspected shooter have been publicly identified. The gunman was fatally shot by police, officials said.
A state police spokesperson said Saturday that officials are investigating whether the male victim “may have been trying to engage the suspect to end the threat.”
Green became a Metropolitan District Commission Police Officer in 1980 and later a state trooper when MDC Police merged into Massachusetts State Police, Mason said.
On Sunday, mourners gathered at the scene while some residents left flowers near the destroyed building, The Boston Globe reported.
Brian Marks, who owns the building that was destroyed, told the Globe that he was in “utter shock” when he saw what happened Saturday.
“I rushed down and came to what, to me, looked like something out of a movie or something,” he said.
Bob Harrington, who lives across from the building, said he heard loud crashes, saw the man get out of the truck and walk down the street and then shortly after heard gunshots. He then saw a woman lying on the ground, he said.
Winthrop Police, Massachusetts State Police and the Suffolk Country District Attorney’s Office are investigating.