Mother of Accused Weymouth Cop Killer Emanuel Lopes: ‘I Am Extremely Sorry'

The man charged with fatally shooting a Massachusetts police officer with the officer's own weapon and an innocent bystander will not be arraigned until Tuesday at the earliest.

Prosecutors say 20-year-old Emanuel Lopes could be arraigned Tuesday at either his South Shore Hospital bedside or in court in connection with the deaths of Weymouth Officer Michael Chesna and an elderly woman, who he also shot in her nearby home. He was originally expected to be arraigned Monday but was not medically available, according to the Norfolk District Attorney's Office.

Authorities say Chesna was trying to locate the driver of a crashed vehicle Sunday when he spotted Lopes allegedly vandalizing a home. Prosecutors say Lopes hit Chesna in the head with a rock, took the officer's gun and shot him. Lopes was shot in the leg by police.

Lopes' mother spoke with NBC10 Boston about her son on Sunday. She did not want her name used but said on the phone that the mental health system failed her son, who had struggled with mental health issues.

She said she tried to get help for her son, most recently at South Shore Mental Health in Quincy, but he refused to take his medication. She also said she has a restraining order against her son.

"I am heartbroken and I am extremely sorry," she said on the phone.

Lopes' cousin also spoke about the shooting on Sunday.

"I don't think he's a bad guy, he's my little cousin," said the cousin, who did not give her name. "This is definitely shocking. I can't imagine what would've made something like this happen."

A former classmate of Lopes spoke Monday about her former friend. Maria Niles said she lost touch with Lopes after he left Weymouth High School. While she knew he was troubled, Niles says she never thought Lopes was capable of this.

"I can see it being him because he was so troubled," she said, "but not a crime to this degree." 

Niles said the once fun-loving Lopes began to change during her sophomore year.

"He would have outbursts and get in fights with me," Niles said. "I think drugs and the lifestyle he chose took him over."

Niles recalled listening to Lopes' troubles, trying to be supportive.

"It would be hour-long conversations, like venting full on the basis of our relationship for years, like him showing emotion for all the different things in his life."

Niles says Lopes, who she knew as "Manny," dropped out of school shortly after a horrific incident that shocked the school community.

"He supposedly took scissors to himself and cut himself in school," she said. "And I remember that was a huge deal and everybody remembers it."

Niles says the last time she heard from Lopes was through a September 2017 message on Twitter in which Lopes told Niles he missed her.

"Manny might not be Manny anymore. He could be totally somebody else," Niles said. "I've avoided him for years. He messaged me in September 2017 saying, 'I miss you. I hope college is great.' I read it but didn't answer."

Niles said two tweets that Lopes sent out the night before he allegedly murdered Officer Chesna were troubling.

One tweet said he loved his mom but that he didn't have a solid person in his life. A second said he was going to let the system crumble.

"His Twitter feed has always been a red flag," Niles said.

She is still confused over what his two tweets meant and whether they are connected to his alleged actions the next day, but beyond the red flags and his troubles, Niles never imagined it could come to this.

"Three lives are totally destroyed and you have to look at it like, Manny has a mother, Manny has a little sister. They are gonna have to live with that forever," Niles said.

Sunday wasn't Lopes' first encounter with Weymouth police.

In September of 207, police were called to his home on Lee Street. He was reportedly angry that he was asked to leave his friend's house and threw a rock at the home. It ended up going through a bedroom and rolling into the kitchen.

Less than a month later, he was arrested for allegedly selling cocaine to a minor.

Court documents show that after that incident, his mother told police she was going to Quincy District Court to involuntarily commit her son to a mental health facility and was planning an intervention before his arrest.

Prosecutors submitted a motion to revoke his bail, stating that Lopes was a danger to the community. A month later, he entered a treatment center for critical stabilization and rehabilitation.

It was not immediately clear if Lopes had an attorney who could comment.