Police Shoot, Kill Elderly Murder Suspect in Rhode Island Cemetery

Police say the two elderly men died from their injuries on Monday night in Tiverton

Authorities have identified two men in their 80s who were shot dead in Rhode Island, one by police.

The shootings happened in Tiverton on Monday evening.

Police say that 81-year-old John Cloud, of Kingston, Massachusetts, and 80-year-old Edward Acquisto, of Tiverton, arranged to meet in a cemetery. Police did not comment on why.

They say Acquisto shot Cloud, then fled into neighboring Fall River, Massachusetts, and circled back into Tiverton, with officers from both communities chasing him.

He then stopped on a dead end, where police say he shot at them.

Two Fall River officers and one Tiverton officer returned fire, killing him.

Acquisto had a criminal history, including pleading no contest to manslaughter in 1982 and pleading guilty to sexual assault in 1981.

Witnesses tell affiliate WJAR about hearing gunshots ring out in their quiet neighborhood.

"All of a sudden, it sounded like a handful of fireworks that went off. It was one after the other. It was 'boom, boom, boom, boom,'" resident Shelley Carreiro said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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