Man denied entry into MGM Casino by security shot after firing flare gun at police
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Jan 29 2022
A shooting involving a police officer near MGM Casino in Springfield is under investigation.
Just after midnight, the Massachusetts State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit officers, which includes state police troopers and Springfield police officers, conducted a search on State Street outside the MGM Casino for a man who was denied entry into the casino because security had observed spent shell casings in his backpack, police said.
Officers engaged with the suspect, a 24-year-old Springfield man, who fired at least one round from a flare gun that struck a Springfield officer. The officer suffered a hand injury, police said.
A trooper pursued the suspect toward the MGM parking garage and took cover as the suspect fired two more shots at the trooper, police said.
Multiple Springfield state police troopers responded to the garage area. During the engagement with the armed suspect, the suspect was shot by an officer or officers, police said.
The suspect was taken to Baystate Medical Center, where he is in critical condition.
Body-camera footage and additional video are being reviewed, police said.
