Photo: Massachushetts State Police
A Winthrop, Mass., shooting that killed a retired state trooper and a member of the U.S. military on Sunday is being investigated as a possible hate crime, officials said.
The victims were David Green, 58, and Ramona Cooper, 60, both of whom were Black.
Rollins said the shooter, identified as 28-year-old Nathan Allen, had a history of making anti-Semitic and racist statements against Black people.
“This individual wrote about the superiority of the white race,” Rollins said. “About whites being ‘apex predators.’ He drew swastikas.”
Suffolk District Attorney
During his rampage, Allen approached each of the victims and shot them multiple times,Rollins stated. Cooper was shot three times in the back, she said, and Green was shot four times in the head and three times in the torso. He was “executed,” she said.
Police officers were quickly called to the scene where they confronted Allen and engaged in a shootout that left him dead. The investigation is ongoing, Rollins said.
Green served with the Massachusetts State Police for 36 years and retired in 2016.
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“He left about 2 o’clock, that’s the last time I saw him,” Tsiotis said. “I lost my best friend, a great great guy.”
Meanwhile, Cooper was a retired staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force who was still involved with the military, according to Rollins.
Her son Gary spoke to the station and described his mother as a “good person.”
“We shouldn’t be hating on other people based on the color of their skin but I guess we are not there yet,” Gary told the station in aseparate interview. “I got sick to my stomach when I found out it was racially motivated.”
The county’s district attorney says she is committed to finding answers for the families of Green and Cooper.
“These two people protected our rights. They fought for us to be safe and to have the opinions that we have, and they were executed,” Rollins said. “And we will find out why and find out more about this man that did this.”
source: people.com
