DA Rollins: Winthrop Shooting Suspect Nathan Allen Had 'Troubling White Supremacist Rhetoric,' Targeted Black Victims
BOSTON (CBS) – Police have identified the man killed by Winthrop Police after he allegedly crashed a stolen truck into a home and fatally shot two bystanders as 28-year-old Nathan Allen. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
District Attorney Rachael Rollins said Allen had written "Troubling white supremacist rhetoric" and targeted the victims because they were Black.
Ramona Cooper, 60, a Staff Sgt. in the Air Force who is still involved in the military, was shot three times in the back and died.
Retired Massachusetts State Police Trooper Dave Green was shot four times in the head and three times in the torso.
"These families deserve answers and we will find out what happened here," said Rollins.
When asked if Allen targeted Cooper and Green because of the color of their skin, Rollins said Allen walked by several people who were not Black and "They were not harmed. They are alive."
Rollins said police found Allen had various racist and anti-Semitic writings.
Allen did have a license to carry, she added.
"This is a sad day. These two people protected our rights, they fought for us to be safe and to have the opinions that we have, and they were executed yesterday. And we will find out why and find out more about this man who did this," said Rollins.
Watch the update from D.A. Rollins and Police Chief Terrance Delahanty:
"This individual wrote about the superiority of the white race. About whites being 'apex predators.' He drew swastikas," the District Attorney's office elaborated in a statement. "This shooter was married and employed. He had a Ph.D. and no criminal history. To all external sources he likely appeared unassuming. And then, yesterday afternoon he stole a box truck, crashed it into another vehicle and a property, walked away from the wreckage interacting with multiple individuals and choosing only to shoot and kill the two Black people he encountered."
Sources told the WBZ-TV I-Team that Allen walked through a marsh to Cal's Autobody and stole a tractor-trailer owned by Rapid Flow Inc. He also allegedly shot into two cars, leaving behind shell casings.
Allen later crashed the truck into a home, extensively damaging the building.
I-Team sources say Allen then climbed out the passenger window of the truck and unsuccessfully attempted to carjack another driver.
After exiting that vehicle, sources say Allen saw Cooper walking and fatally shot her. A short time later, Allen allegedly shot and killed Green, a longtime Winthrop resident.
When Winthrop Police arrived on scene, they exchanged gunfire with Allen. He was shot multiple times by police and died.
"We have no tolerance for hate in this community. It an issue that myself and the District Attorney have worked on in the past in this community, we'll continue to work on it as a community," said Winthrop Police Chief Terrance Delahanty.