Springfield officer shot on State St, suspect arrested

Duncan MacLean and Ashley shaken

5 minutes ago

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Seven people were arrested Wednesday evening for shooting at a Springfield police officer.

According to a press release from Springfield Police spokesman Ryan Walsh, at approximately 10:40 p.m., detectives from the Firearms Investigation Unit were conducting an operation on College Street when they were shot by individuals in a Honda Civic.

Shortly after, people in a Jeep Cherokee shot and struck an unmarked patrol vehicle with an AR-15-style rifle and other firearms approximately five times on State Street near Hunter Place. No officers were hit.

A Springfield police officer heading to work was then shot by a suspect in the Jeep. The officer stopped in the area of ​​the 600 block of State Street and was taken to Baystate Medical Center by Springfield detectives and a squad supervisor with serious injuries. The officer was shot in the face and leg and is expected to recover at a Boston area hospital.

The officer has been with the department for seven years and previously worked in central Massachusetts. The officer, whose name is being withheld at this time, was awarded the Medal of Valor in 2023.

Officers located the Civic in the area of ​​Riverview Terrace. The driver allegedly struck two MassDOT employees, one seriously. Three occupants were arrested on the I-91 ramp, Robert Willis III, 18, Alberto Torres, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, all from Springfield. Police seized four firearms, two of which were equipped with Glock switches, making these firearms fully automatic.

The Jeep was founded in a house on Randall Place. Police arrested three suspects, Isak Font, 18, Dwight Clarke, 26, and a 16-year-old boy, all from Springfield. Three firearms were seized. A fourth suspect was arrested inside the home, 31-year-old Jaime Griffin. A search warrant was carried out around 5 a.m. and police seized additional firearm magazines and ammunition.

Isak Font allegedly used AR-15 rifle to shoot Springfield police officer

All seven suspects were arrested and are being arraigned in Springfield District Court. Police say 18-year-old Isak Font allegedly used the rifle to shoot the officer and the patrol vehicle.

There were several police-involved incidents in the city of Springfield overnight, closing roads and highways from the South End Bridge to State Street and even up to Interstate 91. State police there was seen alongside Springfield officers, examining several damaged cars. The road was closed for hours.

A sign taped to the front door of the CVS store on State Street read: “Closed – Due to live filming, we are temporarily closed tonight until 7:00 a.m. » The location is normally open 24 hours a day.

VIDEO: 22News, updated at 6 a.m.

PHOTOS: Police activity brings Springfield to a halt

DECLARATIONS: Police investigations

Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence E. Akers said, “First, I want to send my thoughts and prayers to our injured officer and his family. We will be by his side throughout the recovery process and I want his family to know that we will be there for him. I also wish the DOT worker who was injured a speedy recovery. I am incredibly proud of our officers involved who were shot, had to witness a colleague being shot and still managed to remove all suspects and seven illegal firearms from our streets over the course of a very difficult night. The professionalism they demonstrated speaks volumes about their character and work ethic. Every officer working helped ensure these suspects could not continue this brazen behavior that put our officers and citizens in the crosshairs. Every day, our officers come to work not knowing what they will face, but I can say without a doubt that when they face these life-threatening situations, they do so with courage and a testament to the profession.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno says, “First and foremost, my thoughts, prayers and encouragement for good health and a speedy recovery go out to our brave and decorated officer and his family, as well as the workers of Mass DOT and to other persons who have been subject to sanctions. these gratuitous criminal acts. Just two days ago, we marked the twelfth anniversary of Officer Kevin Ambrose's ultimate sacrifice to save a mother and child. Thank goodness we are not facing the same situation right now with our brave, dedicated and decorated officer being shot in the face and leg. This was a massive, sprawling crime scene in multiple areas and I want to commend the Springfield Police Department and the men and women of our State Police as well as the efforts of Senior Captain Trent Duda, Chief Deputy Steve Kent, FIU Commander Captain Brian Keenan, and Supt. Akers for being able to arrest everyone involved and quickly remove 7 additional weapons from our streets and neighborhoods. I appreciate the intervention of the Secretary of State for Public Safety and Security, Terrence Reidy, for any assistance we may need. Again, the help that is desperately needed is that all of these individuals are repeat violent criminal offenders, all of whom have prior gun charges and many of whom currently have gun charges. Most of the individuals are young, even if they are a minor who escaped after shooting another person. So the real help we need is for our justice system and some of our judges to keep these repeat violent criminal offenders locked up off our streets and our neighborhoods. By not doing this, and as Captain Keenan indicated, in debriefings with the individuals they arrest, they fear no repercussions from the courts, which encourages them to create more havoc on our streets , in our neighborhoods, with our residents and our businesses. And also, given the young age of these individuals, where are their families to listen to them? No matter how many millions of dollars we invest in education and active youth development, individuals like these take a different negative path. So the help that we really need is coming from our justice system and some of our judges to keep these violent repeat offenders in prison, and we need the families to step up. I will continue to advance my bail reform legislation through State Rep. Puppolo. This situation could have been much worse and could have been avoided if these people had been incarcerated. »