Seven people were arrested Wednesday following the shootings after multiple officers reported being fired on just after 10:30 p.m.
Someone in a Honda Civic took a shot at members of the Springfield firearms investigation unit on College Street. A short time later, a person in a Jeep Cherokee fired a shot that struck an occupied unmarked police cruiser five times on State Street near Hunter Place, Springfield police said.
An off-duty officer driving to work was shot by a suspect in a Jeep in the 600 block of State Street. Officers rushed them to Baystate Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, Springfield officials said. He was later taken to a Boston hospital for more care.
The officer's name was also not released. But he has been with the department for seven years and was awarded the city's highest honor — the Medal of Valor — in 2023.
Springfield police scoured the city looking for the shooters. They stopped the Civic on the I-91 on-ramp after it crashed into two Mass DOT workers. One of the workers was seriously injured.
Officers found the Jeep at a home on Randall Place.
Police arrested seven people and seized seven weapons in the shooting, including an AR-15 that is believed to be the weapon used to shoot the officer.
Those arrested include:
- Robert Willis III, 18, of Springfield
- Alberto Torres, 18, of Springfield
- Unnamed 17-year-old boy from Springfield
- Jamie Griffin, 31, of Springfield
- Isak Font, 18, of Springfield
- Dwight Clarke, 16, of Springfield
- Unnamed 16-year-old boy from Springfield
Font, Clarke, and the 16-year-old are believed to have shot and wounded the officer, police said.
It's unclear why they targeted officers.
Springfield police are investigating the incidents.
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