Suspect shot, officer hurt in wild Lynn drug bust

LYNN – A 23-year-old Boston man was shot and killed by police Monday morning after he knocked another officer who suspected him of dealing drugs to the ground with his car.The unidentified suspect suffered fatal wounds to the head. He was MedFlighted first from the scene to Keaney Park, behind Lynn English, and then flown to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was listed in “extremely critical condition” Monday evening, according to Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokeswoman for the Essex district attorney?s office. As of Tuesday morning District Attorney Johnathan Blodgett confirmed that he has died.The incident began when police suspected that a drug deal was going down on Jefferson Street in the Highlands section of the city, Blodgett said. It triggered a chain reaction in which, after the suspect was wounded, his car kept going and ended up careening into two other automobiles, one of them parked on the side of the road in the area of 54 Jefferson, authorities said.The driver was not injured and was escorted home by police.According to Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger, who was at the scene, the unidentified injured officer was taken by ambulance to Salem Hospital, where he was treated and released. Coppinger also said two other people are in custody.The chief said the officer who fired the shot was an 18-year veteran with no prior involvement with deadly force cases.Blodgett said two undercover officers, in two separate vehicles, observed a drug deal on Rock Avenue.?One of the officers followed the alleged buyers and subsequently arrested them without incident,” Blodgett said.The other officer, who was alone, followed the suspected dealer onto Jefferson Street, Blodgett said, while calling for assistance. When he identified himself as an officer by showing his badge, the suspect drove toward him, knocking him to the ground while the other undercover officer fired one shot into the driver?s side window of the car, Blodgett said.?The car continued down the street and struck a BMW (SUV) driven by a civilian,” Blodget said.Blodgett?s office will conduct an investigation into the facts and circumstances of the shooting to determine if the officer lawfully fired his weapon.According to witness Jeanette Mondesir, police were chasing the alleged dealer?s green Ford Escape as it went down the hill on Jefferson Street when it struck an SUV that was going in the other direction. The driver, who was not involved in the incident, showed arm bruises later at the police station, but appeared to be fine otherwise. The SUV?s front end was crumpled.Witness Mike Stone said the suspect repeatedly took off when the officer attempted to stop him and collided with the SUV, which was traveling up the hill, and a parked black Maxima.?(The driver) was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Stone said, who lives on nearby Adams Street. “Fender-benders happen around here, but nothing like this.”Stone said he saw a bullet hole on the left driver?s window of the green Ford Escape. The inside of the window was coated in what appeared to be blood.The incident happened at the bottom of Jefferson Street, a long, hilly road that is often used as a cut-through by drivers. Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the suspect has died.