According to an Agawam police statement, "As police entry was made, the weapon of one of the responding officers was discharged. The bullet struck a female party within the apartment."
The scene at Elizabeth Manor Apartments at 238 Maple St. Agawam police accidentally shot a woman there will responding to a domestic call.This is an update of a story originally posted at 4:17 p.m.
AGAWAM – Agawam police accidentally shot a 21-year-old woman in her apartment early Saturday in a complex off Maple Street as they responded to a 911 call for a break-in and possible domestic assault, officials said.
The incident happened at about 4:30 a.m. in an apartment at Elizabeth Manor Apartments, 238 Maple St. The woman, whose name was not disclosed, suffered what police described as a non-fatal wound, but officials would not specify that injury.
She was being treated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Her condition was not able to be determined Saturday evening.
Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said that according to the briefing given to him by Agawam police, officers arrived on scene and could hear breaking glass and shouting from inside the apartment.
He said as the officers were readying themselves to enter the apartment, one officer’s gun went off, and the woman was shot.
She was struck once and treated at the scene by the officers before being taken to Baystate.
Mastroianni is not releasing the name of the officer who shot the woman.
Agwamn Police Press Release on May 5 shooting
The district attorney said a male suspect who fled out the back door after the shooting was apprehended. Police are investigating whether or not he will be charged. His name also has not been released.
According to a two-paragraph press statement issued by the Agawam police, officers arrived and could hear yelling and noise inside. “As police entry was made, the weapon of one of the responding officers was discharged. The bullet struck a female party within the apartment causing a non-fatal injury,” the statement reads.
The names of the officers responding to the call were not released, nor was the identity of the officer discharging the weapon.
The Massachusetts State Police assigned to Mastroianni’s office responded to the scene, as did the state police ballistic unit. The investigation is being conducted by the Agawam police, the state police and Mastroianni’s office.
A caller who contacted The Republican and identified himself as Robert Connell, a spokesman for the family of the wounded woman, said she is the single mother of two children and is expecting a third. He said the shot shattered her jaw.
Officials could not be reached to confirm Connell’s statements.
Elizabeth Manor Apartments off Maple Street is an L-shaped apartment complex.
Residents at the complex declined to comment. One woman who said she was the wife of the assistant manager told a reporter he was on private property and had to leave.
The shooting is the third in the area in less than a month involving law enforcement officers. Each involved officers responding to reported domestic disturbances.
On April 7 at 2 a.m., Westfield police responding to domestic disturbance at 128 Elm St. shot and killed 28-year-old Douglas Gusto, of Southampton, after Gusto stabbed an officer in the leg. Officials said the shooting appeared justified, although the district attorney’s office is investigating.
One week later on April 13 at 7:45 a.m., state and Chicopee police were involved in a shoot-out with a heavily armed man barricaded in the 102 West St. apartment of his estranged girlfriend while firing upon passing pedestrians and vehicles. One state trooper and a civilian passer-by were wounded.
The gunman, Carlos A. Gonzalez-Laguer, 41, of Springfield, was later found dead in the apartment. An autopsy revealed he took his own life after having been wounded by police. The district attorney is investigating the case.
View Larger Map