A man is in custody after police say he attacked a Weymouth, Massachusetts, police officer Sunday morning, taking his gun and shooting him, before also killing an elderly woman who was shot through a window in her home.
Emanuel Lopes, 20, of Weymouth, has been identified as the suspect in the shootings of the officer and the woman. Officer Michael Chesna, 42, was rushed to the hospital and died, authorities said. The woman who was killed has not been identified as police have not yet notified her next of kin.
The shooting happened about 8 a.m. near Torrey Street and Burton Terrace in Weymouth, about 17 miles south of Boston, following a traffic stop, WCVB-TV reports. Authorities said Weymouth Police had responded about 7:30 a.m. to a report of an erratic driver near the South Shore Hospital. When officers arrived, they found the car had been involved in a one-vehicle accident and the driver had fled from the scene.
Officers began searching for the driver and he was located by Chesna. The driver, later identified as Lopes, then attacked and killed Chesna, according to police. He was later taken into custody after exchanging gunfire with other officers and shooting into a home, authorities said.
According to MassLive.com, Lopes, who goes by the name Manny Lopes, was arrested in Weymouth in October on drug charges. He was on pre-trial probation in that case, with a court appearance set for the end of the month, WBZ-TV reports.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Lopes Attacked the Officer With a Large Stone, Took His Gun & Shot Him Multiple Times in the Head & Chest Before a Shootout With Other Officers, the DA Says
Emanuel Lopes is accused of attacking Officer Michael Chesna with a “large stone” in a Weymouth neighborhood Sunday morning, the Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor said at a press conference. Chesna had been looking for the driver who fled from a crash nearby when he spotted a man “vandalizing a home,” Connor said. The officer exited his vehicle, pulled his gun and ordered the man to stop, according to Connor. The man, later identified as Lopes, then attacked him with a “large stone, possibly hitting him in the head,” Connor told reporters.
After Chesna was knocked to the ground with the rock, Lopes grabbed his gun and shot him multiple times in the head and chest, Connor said. He then fired at other responding officers before fleeing on foot, authorities said. He was struck during the exchange of gunfire, but was not seriously injured.
While on the run, the district attorney’s office said Lopes fired more shots with Chesna’s gun. One of those bullets went through the window of a home and killed and elderly woman who was inside, according to authorities. Lopes was then located and taken into custody, according to police.
More details: Weymouth officer shot is in “very critical” condition at South Shore Hospital. Shooting suspect is in custody, had been driving erratically when this all started. #WCVB
Witnesses told reporters they heard several shots and then saw the officer on the ground receiving CPR. The officer was rushed to South Shore Hospital, where he later died, authorities said.
“You could hear officers running through our neighborhood screaming telling him to put the gun down, put the gun down,” Susan Long told NBC 10 Boston.
April Visco told The Boston Globe she heard 10 to 12 shots and someone yelling “get on the ground.” She then saw a man being walked to a police vehicle.
PHOTO: Police rushed into this house on Torrey St. a few mins ago next to the shooting scene on Burton Terrace in #Weymouth with medkits and then quickly expanded the scene. NFI
Police found the unidentified elderly woman dead inside her home after discovering a bullet hole in her window while investigating the shooting. Reporters at the scene said police and emergency medical personnel rushed into the home, but the woman was already dead when they arrived.
5 Investigates has learned an elderly woman was shot and killed in addition to Weymouth Police officer critically wounded. This was when police found her in her home moments after they saw bullet hole in window. Shows how close to street where Officer was shot. #wcvb
Authorities said Lopes fired several shots and at least one of the bullets hit the woman’s home. It is not clear if police believe Lopes was firing randomly or if he was shooting at officers who were pursuing him when they house was hit.
The woman has not yet been identified as police are still working to notify her next of kin.
2. Lopes Was Hospitalized With a Gunshot Wound to the Leg & Will Be Arraigned Monday on 2 Counts of Homicide
Sources tell Team 5 that suspect may have used Weymouth Police officer’s own gun to shoot him. Officers are going door to door as Command post set up at shooting scene. #wcvb
Emanuel Lopes was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Lopes was shot in the leg, authorities said.
Lopes has recent addresses in Weymouth and Brockton, police said. Details about his background and criminal history were not immediately released. It is not clear if he has hired an attorney.
Weymouth police officer Michael Chesna, 42, killed in the line duty. A procession leads his body from South Shore Hospital. #wcvb
He will be charged with two counts of homicide, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said at a press conference.
Lopes will be arraigned on those charges Monday morning. The district attorney’s office said it is not yet known if the arraignment will take place in a courtroom or in Lopes’ room at the hospital.
Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor said the investigation is in its early stages.
3. Lopes Was Accused of Selling Cocaine to Minors Last Year & Police Say He Ran From Officers During That Arrest & Had ‘Fought’ With Them Before
Emanuel Lopes in his mugshot from the 2017 arrest.
Emanuel Lopes was arrested in North Weymouth in October 2017 after police said he was caught trying to sell cocaine to minors, The Patriot Ledger reported at the time. Lopes fled from officers who were trying to search him during that arrest, police said. He was later caught and charged with charged with possession to distribute cocaine to a minor, possession to distribute cocaine and resisting arrest.
Police said they received a call reporting a drug deal in the area of North Weymouth known as The Shelf, according to The Patriot Ledger. When officers responded, they found Lopes with five males and a female, who all appeared to be minors, near an abandoned beach house. Police said they saw multiple open alcoholic beverages on the ground near the teens.
When officers began to pat down Lopes, he was fidgeting and sweating, according to the police report obtained by The Patriot Ledger. He then fled and jumped down the rocks at a nearby seawall and into a wooded area, where police lost sight of him. A K-9 was brought in and Lopes was found about an hour later. Police said they found a bag with about a half ounce of cocaine and a digital scale inside.
The officers said in the report they knew Lopes from previous incidents and wrote, “We have fought with him before,” according to The Patriot Ledger.
Lopes, then 19, was held on $5,040 bail after that arrest. According to WBZ-TV’s Cheryl Fiandaca, Lopes was released on pre-trial probation after that arrest. The only condition was random drug-testing. His next hearing in that case is set for July 30. According to Massachusetts law, pre-trial probation is a program that allows for charges to be dismissed if the defendant completes the requirements of the program.
4. Lopes Graduated From Weymouth High School in 2016 & Was Described as Homeless After His 2017 Arrest
“I’m at a loss for words.” Cousin of Emanuel Lopes talks about his arrest, accused of killing two people including Weymouth police officer Michael Chesna. 6pm @NBC10Boston.
Emanuel “Manny” Lopes is a Weymouth native and graduated from Weymouth High School in 2016, according to The Herald News.
A former classmate, who said she had gone to school with Lopes since they were in middle school, told Boston 25’s Mike Saccone, “Manny’s always been a troubled kid, I guess, but I don’t think anyone who knew him growing up would’ve expected him capable of something like this.”
Former classmate of Emanuel “Manny” Lopes tells me she went to school with him since middle school. “Manny’s always been a troubled kid, I guess, but I don’t think anyone who knew him growing up would’ve expected him capable of something like this.” #Boston25
He was listed as being homeless after his arrest in 2017, according to Wicked Local Weymouth. Police said he has lived recently in Weymouth and in Brockton.
Lopes was also charged with vandalism in September 2017, according to a Weymouth Police report. His address was listed in Brockton at the time. Lopes was accused of defacement of real or personal property during that incident, but no other details were released. Other details about his criminal history were not immediately available.
5. Chesna, an Army Veteran, Is Survived by His Wife & 2 Children
@WeymouthPD Officer Michael Chesna shot and killed by suspect this morning. Chesna joined the dept in 2012. He grew up in Weymouth and was an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. #RIP #WCVB
Officer Michael Chesna joined the Weymouth Police Department in 2012 after serving in the Army. His six-year anniversary with the police department would have been July 16, Weymouth Police Chief Richard Grimes said at a press conference. Grimes said Chesna joined the military with the goal of eventually becoming a police officer.
The chief told reporters, “He was one of those people who truly sought this job and was fortunate enough to get it.” He worked the midnight to 8 a.m. shift.
Chesna is survived by his wife, Cindy, and two daughters, ages 4 and 9. Grimes said Chesna, “always had a kind word and a good attitude,” and was a “great family man” and a “great officer.”
Chesna graduated from Weymouth High School in 1994, according to WCVB-TV. He served in Afghanistan and Iraq during his time in the Army. He later attended Northeastern University, graduating with a degree in criminal justice.