The man shot and killed by police in Lynn, Massachusetts on Monday after he allegedly robbed a Walgreens store has been identified as a 39-year-old Somerville man.
In a statement, the office of Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett identified the man as John S. Mellone, but did not provide further information about the case.
According to authorities, Mellone was shot by a Lynn police officer during a pursuit after pinning a pursuing Revere officer with his vehicle on a dead-end street.
Revere police responded to reports of a robbery at the Walgreens at 430 Broadway around 8:07 a.m. At the scene, witnesses told officers Mellone, who is white, fled the area in a silver BMW and provided the license plate number on the car, Blodgett said.
Revere police officers saw the vehicle on Route 107 and attempted to pull Mellone over, at which point the man allegedly fled, Blodgett said. Revere police alerted counterparts in Lynn the man was headed Lynn on the same road.
According to the district attorney, a Lynn police officer working a detail at the corner of Summer and Witt Streets saw the BMW turn down Witt Street, a dead end, and ran to help officers who were pursuing Mellone.
According to Blodgett, a Revere police officer exited his vehicle and became pinned by the BMW, at which point the officer from Lynn shot Mellone.
The district attorney did not elaborate on whether or not Mellone was in his vehicle at the time of the shooting.
The pursuit ended in front of nine-year-old Abigail Montes' home.
"I heard gunshots and people fighting and arguing saying, 'I will kill you,'" Montes recalled.
The man died at the scene.
The officer from Revere was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Montes' parents shot video of the aftermath, showing just how close the incident happened to a home full of young children.
"My zoom online started and I heard yelling so I heard they were saying some things, and I checked in the cameras and I saw the police," Montes said.
State police detectives attached to the Essex County District Attorney's Office responded to the scene. The Essex District Attorney’s Office and the Essex State Police Detective Unit are investigating.
