A Maine man is in custody in connection with two apparently random shootings in Massachusetts early Sunday morning that injured two men, according to Duxbury police Chief Matthew Clancy.
Lucas McPherson, 25, of Mapleton is being held at the Duxbury Police Department with several charges pending, including the Massachusetts equivalent of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, an officer at the station said Sunday morning.
McPherson allegedly fired a shotgun from inside his vehicle in separate incidents, wounding one man who was driving along Tremont Street in Duxbury near the town hall and another on Tobey Garden Street who was letting out his dog, Clancy said in a news release posted on the department’s website.
Both gunshot victims were taken to Plymouth Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to police.
“At this early point in the investigation the shootings appear completely random,” the police chief said.
The first shooting occurred around 1:15 a.m., when a 33-year-old Marshfield man was shot in the abdomen by someone in a passing vehicle near the town hall and drove himself to the nearby Duxbury Fire Station for help, the police chief said. About 20 minutes later McPherson’s Chevy Impala, which has a Maine registration, was spotted near Tobey Garden Street and just before police arrived McPherson allegedly shot another man.
“[The second victim] shot was letting his dog out when the man pulled in front of the home and shot him seconds before the first Duxbury cruiser arrived,” Clancy said.
“As the officer approached the [suspect’s] vehicle a resident quickly approached stating he was just shot by the occupant of the vehicle,” the police chief said. “The vehicle again tried to flee the area but was blocked in by the Duxbury Police cruiser. As the officer attempted to arrest the man he came at the officer with a hunting knife and was subdued by the officer using an electronic control weapon (Taser).”
A Kingston police officer arrived and assisted with the arrest. Massachusetts State Police detectives and crime scene technicians responded to the scene and are working with Duxbury police detectives on the investigation, Clancy said.
“Inside the man’s car police recovered a shotgun believed to be used in both shootings,” the news release states.
McPherson will be arraigned Monday at Plymouth District Court.
McPherson was convicted in Presque Isle District Court in 2012 of operating a vehicle while under influence of intoxicants and was ordered to pay a $500 fine, spend jail 48 hours in jail and had his driver’s license suspended for 90 days, according to BDN archives.