The Berkshire Eagle
WOBURN, Mass. — A police officer was shot and wounded during an attempted jewelry store robbery Tuesday morning, and one suspect, also injured, was arrested, authorities said.
The Woburn police officer, identified by authorities as Robert DeNapoli, 51, was shot multiple times and was taken to the Lahey Clinic in nearby Burlington, but “the prognosis is good,” state police spokesman David Procopio said.
The suspect was under arrest while at the hospital; there was no immediate information about his condition, Procopio said.
Police were looking for one or possibly two other suspects who may be armed, Procopio said. Officers, including some using police dogs, were searching neighborhoods.
Investigators do not have a reason to believe the suspect is still in the area, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone told reporters, warning Woburn residents to remain cautious. He declined to release additional details on the suspect or his alleged accomplices.
“We can’t be certain as to where the suspect is now,” Leone said, adding that investigators are concerned about the suspect hiding in the area around Woburn.
Investigators were searching for a possible getaway car, but Leone declined to share details on what kind of vehicle officers were looking for.
Gunfire broke out in a parking lot after an attempted robbery at Musto Jewelers, a shop on the second floor of a commercial building between a dental office and a chiropractor in an area known as Four Corners.
DeNapoli, a 16-year veteran of the Woburn Police Department, was shot as he arrived at the shopping plaza after police received several 911 calls reporting a robbery, Leone said in a statement.
Local television footage shows the police cruiser punctured by numerous bullet holes, with at least window shattered following what was described as a point-blank shootout.
At one point, emergency workers were seen attending to the wounded suspect while he was on the ground. He was later handcuffed and taken to hospital.
DeNapoli “received serious injuries” that do not threaten his life, Leone said.
The wounded police officer is with his family in the hospital, Woburn Police Chief Richard Kelley said after visiting him there with Mayor Scott Galvin.
“It is kind of unbelievable,” Kelley said.
Dozens of police cruisers from Woburn, surrounding towns and state police rushed to the scene, about 15 miles north of Boston.
Police conducted door-to-door searches around the neighborhood. Officers dressed in bulletproof gear were seen riding in armored vehicles, with their rifles drawn.
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