Cops: Massachusetts police officer shot, woman dead in "ambush"

BOURNE, Mass. - One woman was shot to death and two other people, including a police officer, were wounded early Thursday at a Massachusetts condominium complex by a man who set a vehicle on fire to block access, officials said.

A suspect was taken into custody about a half hour after the shooting, at about 2:15 a.m. Cape and Islands District Atorney Michael O'Keefe said the man was armed with three rifles and a handgun, CBS Boston reports.

No names were released.

Police said officers initially responded to a 911 call from a woman who said she and another person had been shot. They found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames and blocking the road.

The situation quickly turned into a "crazy and hectic scene" with the wounded officer taking cover between two vehicles and his colleagues unable to reach him because they were pinned down by gunfire, Bourne police Chief Dennis Woodside said.

Woodside called the situation an ambush.

The officer, who was shot in the back, below his bullet-proof vest, lay injured for about 15 minutes before the suspect was arrested at gunpoint. Even then, police remained wary because they were not aware if there were other gunmen still at large.

Two colleagues grabbed the injured officer and carried him through the woods and snow so he could be taken to the hospital, where he has been stabilized, the chief said. He described the injured officer as a veteran with at least 10 years of service.

Residents of the Roundhouse Road condominium complex described hearing explosions and police say they found what appeared to be bombs in the area. The state police bomb squad also responded to the scene to examine what are suspected of being hoax devices found placed nearby, allegedly by the shooting suspect.

According to Bourne police, "Officers also located multiple incendiary devices and were hampered by other hazards in the area," CBS Boston reports.

At 2:48 a.m., after police apprehended the suspect outside, they made their way to the unit where they found two women who had been shot, one of whom was already dead. The surviving woman was taken to the hospital.

Residents were told to stay inside their units, but Woodside said the area is now safe.

He did not disclose any other details, or a motive.