An investigation is underway in Winthrop, Massachusetts, after a gunman killed two people, including a retired state trooper, before being fatally shot by police Saturday.
The suspected gunman had stolen a plumbing and drain company's truck, then crashed it into a home at the corner of Shirley and Cross streets, police said.
The gunman got out of the truck and shot a woman and man, both of whom died, police said.
The victims were identified Sunday as David Green, a 58-year-old retired Massachusetts State Police officer, and Ramona Cooper, a 60-year-old Air Force veteran.
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Investigators have found the 28-year-old gunman had made "some troubling white supremacist rhetoric" that targeted Black and Jewish people, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said Sunday. Both his victims were Black, and the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene, including a building flattened by the truck and the gunman without shoes before firing a series of shots. None of the three people who died have yet publicly named, though police said at a news conference they have been identified -- police were reaching out to family members.
More people could have died if the incident had taken on a week day. That building is an office, and a man who rents the space said Sunday that he, his partner and their families are often inside.
Two other people were hospitalized but are expected to survived -- they were in a crashed vehicle that was part of the incident, according to Winthrop police.
Officers were seen saluting one of the shooting victims, Green, as his body was being taken to the Boston medical examiner.
A police officer was taken to a hospital to be evaluated but wasn't seriously hurt, according to police.
One witness heard a "big crash" while she was in bed. Emely Norena said she ran outside afterward and went to help a family in a vehicle, then heard another crash.
"Then all of a sudden, I hear a set of gun shots. then I ran back inside my house," Norena said.
She saw police arrive soon afterward, then more gunshots.
She said the house hit by the truck was "non-existent." No one was inside at the time, police said.
PHOTOS: Police, Rescue Response to Winthrop Shooting
“I feel like my mind went blank. All I was trying to do was get my mom to safety because the gunshots really scared me. Winthrop is known to be a very safe town. Not many things like this happens around here, so it scared me a bit,” Norena said.
Robert Harrington said he saw the gunman get out of the truck:
He climbed out of the truck, climbed over the fence. He had no shoes on, he looked like he was out of it. I don’t know if he was disoriented or whatever. And then he just started casually walking down the street. I was going to say something, but what am I going to do, you know what I mean? Then, he started jogging. Then, I heard the 'boom, boom, boom, boom.' Then, I ran down, I looked down and the next thing I saw is the body in the middle of the street. So, I ran down, got behind the car, 'cause the shots were still going. You could see the smoke from the gun. To tell you the truth, the girl, it makes me very sad. I just thought I’d block it out and try to go on with my life, but it’s definitely going to stay with me.
Multiple police agencies were investigating what took place.
A crashed truck was visible at the scene, surrounded by police tape. The top of the truck appeared to be shredded and it had front-end damage as well. An SUV was damaged nearby as well.
The truck belongs to a company called Rapid Flow, Inc., which it acknowledged Saturday afternoon in a Facebook post: "This afternoon one of our trucks was stolen, and unfortunately was just used moments ago to drive through a Winthrop residence. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available."
State Sen. Joe Boncore tweeted he was "devastated" by the incident.
"We are praying for the victims and their families — and every individual impacted by this act of violence," Boncore said.
