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Officials in Massachusetts are investigating the fatal shooting of two Black people as a hate crime after finding white supremacist rhetoric in the gunman’s handwriting. The victims were identified as David Green, 58, a retired Massachusetts State Police Officer and Ramona Cooper, 60, an Air Force veteran.
According to NBC, the gunman, 28-year-old Nathan Allen, stole a plumber’s truck Saturday (June 26), in Winthrop, just outside of Boston, later crashing it into a house. Allen shot Green and Cooper who were bystanders to the whole scene. “He walked by several people that were not Black and they are alive. They were not harmed,” according to Suffolk County District Attorney Rachel Rollins. “They are alive and these two visible people of color are not.” Allen was killed by police.
According to the outlet, investigators found “some troubling white supremacist rhetoric” that Allen apparently wrote. Authorities didn’t specify where the writing was discovered but stated that they found “antisemitic and racist statements against Black individuals.” Rollins added that Allen drew swastikas and described white people as “apex predators.”
Officials said the gunman was married, employed, and had a Ph.D, and no previous criminal history, which made him “likely appeared unassuming” before choosing to commit multiple crimes and “only to shoot and kill the two Black people he encountered.”
“These families deserve answers, and we will find out what happened here,” she said. “This is a sad day,” Rollins said Sunday (June 27). Cooper and Green “protected our rights. They fought for us to be safe, to have the opinions that we have –– and they were executed.”
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