Investigators say trooper justified in fatally shooting man

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts trooper who fatally shot a man accused of stealing vehicles and stabbing an employee at a New Hampshire car dealership was justified in the use of deadly force, investigators determined.

Trooper Steven Buccheri “reasonably believed that he, his fellow officers and the public were in imminent danger of being seriously injured or killed” when he shot Thomas Murray at a Newbury gas station Feb. 16, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in a statement Thursday.

Murray, 31, of Dracut, was a suspect in several carjackings and was shot a short time after he stabbed an employee at a Nashua car dealership while stealing a BMW sport utility vehicle.

The trooper found a vehicle matching the description of the one stolen at the gas station, authorities said at the time.

Responding officers boxed in the man’s car and approached him, and he rammed a police vehicle, authorities said.

Buccheri ordered Murray to show his hands and surrender, and the Newbury officers heard Murray yell, “I have a gun,” according to investigators.

Buccheri shot Murray in the shoulder. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died. No officers were injured. A knife was found in the vehicle.

Although the shooting occurred in Essex County, the Plymouth district attorney’s office conducted the investigation because Buccheri had previously been assigned to the Essex DA’s office.

“No state trooper begins his shift wanting or expecting to have to use lethal force, but when circumstances necessitate such force, troopers are expected to act in accordance with the law, our policies, and their training,” Col. Christopher Mason, commander of the Massachusetts State Police, said in a statement.