A truck driver who fatally struck a Massachusetts police officer and a utility employee in Waltham, pulled a knife on another officer, stole his cruiser and crashed has been indicted on two counts of second degree murder, the Middlesex District Attorn…
Massachusetts
Police searching for Chelsea woman reported missing last week
Police in Chelsea, Massachusetts, are asking for the public’s help in locating a woman who has been missing since last week.
Christine Gouveia, 36, was reported missing out of Chelsea on Friday. Her family said she was last seen on March 17. Police said she suffers from mental health issues and could be in the New Hampshire area.
She is described as being 5′ tall, with brown eyes and strawberry blonde hair.
Anyone who sees Gouveia is asked to call Chelsea police at 617-466-4800.
Woman killed in car crash in Carver
A woman died when her car crashed into a utility pole in Carver, Massachusetts, early Wednesday morning, officials said.
The car was found crashed into a utility pole on Main Street, near King Richard’s Faire, at about 5:38 a.m., according t…
4-year-old girl killed by pickup near Boston Children’s Museum identified, death ruled an accident
The 4-year-old girl killed by a pickup truck near Boston Children’s Museum this weekend has been identified, and her death has been ruled an accident.
Her name was Gracie Gancheva, and her death remains under investigation, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
“It’s difficult to adequately express the scope of tragedy in losing someone so young. My staff and I extend our deepest condolences to Gracie Gancheva’s family, friends and loved ones,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.
According to the police report, the preliminary cause of death was blunt force injury and the manner of death has been determined to be an accident.
The incident occurred just after 5 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Congress and Sleeper streets in the Seaport District, Boston police said.
Police have she was with family members when, for some reason, she ended up in the road. Moments later, she was hit by a vehicle. A police report identified the vehicle as a Ford F-150 pickup truck and said the girl was found unconscious on Sleeper Street.
She was immediately rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 5:51 p.m.
The driver, who hasn’t been identified, remained on scene until officers arrived, according to police. No charges have been filed so far and no arrests were made.
Officials haven’t said if the family had been at the Boston Children Museum on Sunday; a museum representative didn’t know if that was the case. The museum closes at 4 p.m. on Sundays, over an hour before the deadly crash.
The museum’s president, Carole Charnow, said in a statement that there were already plans to address safety at the intersection where the girl was killed, but that the museum is hopeful that more can be done immediately.
“Boston Children’s Museum is devastated by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family of the little girl. We know that there continue to be issues with this intersection of Congress Street and Sleeper Street that are related to speed and site lines. While we know that there are plans in the works to permanently address this issue, we hope that something can be done right away to ensure pedestrian safety,” she said in the statement.
The museum was previously scheduled to be closed this week for upgrades to the facility.
Robotic police dog shot multiple times, credited with averting potential bloodshed
A Massachusetts State Police robot dog was shot during a standoff on Cape Cod this month, officials said, calling it an example of how the technology can make police work safer in dangerous situations.
It’s both the first time a Massachusetts State Police robot dog was shot while working and the first time that one of Boston Dynamics’ well-known Spot robots was shot while working, representatives told NBC10 Boston Wednesday.
The dog, known as Roscoe, was shot as a SWAT team dealt with a man barricaded in a home in the Hyannis section of Barnstable on March 6, police said. That standoff prompted local schools to be evacuated and took hours to resolve; it led to the arrest of 30-year-old Justin Moreira.
Moreira was barricaded inside a home on St. Francis Circle after a 911 call about a person holding someone else at knifepoint, police said at the time. The person escaped, but when officers arrived, at the home, Moreira allegedly opened fire on a SWAT vehicle and periodically shot near the officers who’d circled the home.
State police eventually decided to send in three robots, including Roscoe, to find where in the building Moreira was holed up. Roscoe cleared the top two floors of the building, then discovered him, holding a rifle, in the basement, police said.
He knocked the robot dog down, then started to walk up the stairs, but, when Roscoe righted itself and started following him up the stairs, he knocked the dog over again, then shot it three times. Its pilot lost communication with the dog.
Images shared by police showed the dog shot in its side and “neck.”
Moreira went on to take aim at another of the robots outside, though he missed, officials said. Police eventually took him into custody after they sent tear gas through the house.
“The incident provided a stark example of the benefits of mobile platforms capable of opening doors and ascending stairs in tactical missions involving armed suspects,” state police said in a statement. “In addition to providing critically important room clearance and situational awareness capabilities, the insertion of Roscoe into the suspect residence prevented the need, at that stage of response, from inserting human operators, and may have prevented a police officer from being involved in an exchange of gunfire.”
Moreira later appeared in court, where authorities said he fired more than 30 rounds during the course of the standoff. His attorney spoke briefly outside of court, calling this “a very serious case.”
The day after Roscoe was shot, police brought it to its manufacturer, Waltham-based Boston Dynamics, to have the bullets removed and assess the damage, police said. The company is hoping to keep the dog for research, and state police are getting a replacement.
A Boston Dynamics representative confirmed in an email that the state police dog “was the first Spot robot to be shot while ‘on duty.’
“More than that though, Spot keeps people out of harm’s way and aids first responders in assessing dangerous situations. We are proud that Spot safely supported the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad during the recent Barnstable incident involving an armed and barricaded suspect, and we are relieved that the only casualty that day was our robot. It’s a great example of how mobile robots like Spot can be used to save lives,” the email continued.
The company notes that its robots are not allowed to be weaponized.
The company also noted the incident in a blog post released this week about its Spot robots, noting that they have “proven extremely valuable in hostage situations, which are, of course, inherently volatile and present a real risk of imminent danger.”
The company said it’s a way to get officials a close look at such situations without putting humans at risk. Referring to Roscoe, they said simply that the “suspect fired at both responding officers and at Spot, partially disabling the robot. Officers were ultimately able to safely arrest the suspect.”
More on robot police dogs
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Another round of heavy rain on the way ahead of Easter weekend
Wednesday starts on a dreary, cloudy note, with milder air.
Temperatures are roughly in the low 40s with clouds overhead, but winds are much calmer Wednesday. Breaks in the clouds will support high temperatures in mid-50s.
The exception to the r…
