A 49-year-old woman was killed after she was shot inside a home at 31 School Street in Rockland, Massachusetts, early Saturday evening, November 14, and police are questioning two men who were arguing in the residence when a gun went off and struck her, Rockland police said. Officers received a 911 call at about 5:53 p.m., found the woman with a gunshot wound and she was taken to South Shore Hospital, where WCVB reported she was killed; WATD 95.9 FM described the case as a fatal domestic shooting under investigation.
Source: WATD 95.9 FM, South Shore Massachusetts
Rockland Police Chief Nicholas Zeoli gave the first official account, quoted by Boston 25 News: “Initial reports indicate that two male parties were arguing in the residence and during the argument a gun went off striking the female.” That is the police account of how the woman was hit — it is not a court finding, and officials have not said who held or fired the gun.
Source: South Shore 360 News, citing WCVB and Boston 25 News / Rockland Police Chief Nicholas Zeoli
Inside the School Street Home
Both WCVB and Boston 25 News reported late Saturday, citing Rockland police and the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office, that the two men are being questioned by investigators and that police said there is no threat to the public. WATD reported the same sequence independently on Sunday: a 911 call just before six Saturday evening, officers finding the 49-year-old woman wounded, her transport to South Shore Hospital, and the two men questioned.
Source: WATD 95.9 FM, South Shore Massachusetts
Officials have not released the woman's name, have not said what the argument was about, and have not described the relationship between the woman and the two men. WATD's description of the shooting as domestic reflects the in-home circumstances police reported; no official has publicly assigned a motive or said whether the shooting is being treated as accidental, and this report does not assume either.
Source: WATD 95.9 FM, South Shore Massachusetts
The woman's name, who fired the gun, whether anyone will be charged, and whether the person police radio described in custody in Weymouth is one of the two men being questioned. Officials had released none of those points as of early Sunday, November 15.
Who Is Investigating
Rockland police are investigating with the Massachusetts State Police and the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office assisting, WATD and both Boston stations reported. In Plymouth County, fatal shootings are ordinarily investigated jointly by local police, State Police detectives assigned to the district attorney's office and prosecutors, who decide on any charges once the facts are gathered.
Source: WATD 95.9 FM, South Shore Massachusetts
As of 12:25 a.m. Sunday, the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office, the State Police and the Rockland Police Department had not posted a release about the shooting on their websites, South Shore 360 reported after checking all three — so the fullest official account so far remains Chief Zeoli's statements through WCVB and Boston 25 News and the summary WATD published.
Source: South Shore 360 News, citing WCVB and Boston 25 News / Rockland Police Chief Nicholas Zeoli
Separate police-radio traffic on Saturday night described a search near Pond and Main streets in Weymouth and, at about 8:54 p.m., said a suspect in the Rockland case was in custody there. The accounts Rockland police later gave WCVB and Boston 25 News do not mention an arrest or the Weymouth search, and both say only that the two men are being questioned — so the radio report is recorded here as unconfirmed, not as an official arrest.
Source: South Shore 360 News, citing WCVB and Boston 25 News / Rockland Police Chief Nicholas Zeoli
What is solid
- A 911 call at about 5:53 p.m. Saturday, November 14, brought Rockland officers to 31 School Street, where they found a 49-year-old woman with a gunshot wound (Rockland police via WCVB, Boston 25 News and WATD)
- Police say two men were arguing in the home when a gun went off and struck the woman; she was taken to South Shore Hospital and was killed
- Both men are being questioned; State Police and the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office are assisting; police say there is no threat to the public
What is only claimed
- Police-radio traffic described a suspect taken into custody in Weymouth at about 8:54 p.m.; the official police accounts given to WCVB and Boston 25 News do not mention an arrest or a Weymouth search
- Who fired the gun, and whether the discharge was accidental or intentional, has not been stated by officials
What Happens Next
The next official steps are the identification of the woman — ordinarily released by the district attorney's office after family notification — and a charging decision, which rests with investigators and prosecutors once questioning and evidence work are complete. No charges, arrests in the official accounts, or court dates had been announced as of early Sunday, November 15, and no further briefing time had been posted by Rockland police or the district attorney's office.
Source: South Shore 360 News, citing WCVB and Boston 25 News / Rockland Police Chief Nicholas Zeoli
Rockland is a South Shore town in Plymouth County, south of Boston. For neighbours on School Street, police guidance Saturday night was that there is no threat to the public, even as the investigation inside the home continued with State Police and district attorney support into Sunday.