Newly obtained body-camera footage shows three different angles of the chaotic February shootout on Linden Street in Fall River that left two police officers wounded and 40-year-old Nigel Vaughn dead. The video captures the encounter from its calm opening moments, when an officer pats Vaughn down beside his SUV, through the violent struggle and gunfire that followed just after midnight.
According to WJAR, which obtained the footage, the station says it shows three perspectives of the deadly shooting. Police had received a report of a person with a gun in a black SUV, and an officer is heard explaining that the pat-down was for both his and Vaughn's safety, per the station's reporting. Vaughn asked why the officer was going to frisk him before trying to pull away with his hands over his head, the footage shows.
The Boston Globe reported that officers responded to the call about a person with a gun on Linden Street at around 12:13 a.m. on Feb. 8. The Bristol County District Attorney's Office said Vaughn violently resisted, resulting in a physical struggle with the officers, according to the Globe's reporting.
Gunfire Erupts During the Struggle
Officers took Vaughn to the ground during the altercation, and while on the ground, the district attorney's office said, he opened fire on police, per the Globe. Police said Vaughn fired first, striking two officers before they returned fire, fatally wounding him. One officer was hit in the elbow, and another was struck in the abdomen but was protected by his bullet-resistant vest, the Globe reported, citing the district attorney's office. Vaughn died at a hospital shortly afterward, according to the same report.
Investigators later said the weapon Vaughn used was a modified Glock pistol that had been altered to fire fully automatically, according to WPRI. Both officers were treated and released after the shooting.
A Violent Criminal Past
Vaughn had a lengthy criminal record tied to a prior shooting in Fall River. WPRI reported that in August 2007, he was found guilty of wounding three people in a shooting at the former Larry's Sports Bar, which took place in 2005. The Herald News reported that Vaughn was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in state prison, to be followed by 10 years of probation, for that earlier conviction.
Vaughn later sought resentencing on that case, but a Massachusetts Appeals Court opinion hosted by FindLaw shows the court affirmed the denial of his motion for resentencing in 2023, closing off that avenue of appeal.
The Fall River shooting was not the only incident involving an officer shot that week; the Globe also reported that Millbury police Sergeant Keith Gasco was shot in a standoff with a barricaded suspect around the same time, underscoring the dangers officers across Massachusetts faced that week.
