An off-duty police officer in Massachusetts was shot and wounded during a confrontation with another officer who was trying to serve an abuse prevention restraining order to her. The female cop had to be rushed to hospital where she is now recovering.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a 28-year-old North Andover police officer and a new mom, was shot once on Monday evening when three officers came to her residence to serve her with a restraining order, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said during a Tuesday press briefing. "When one of the officers was escorting Ms. Fitzsimmons during the service of the court order, an armed confrontation took place," Tucker told reporters.
Situation Goes Wild
"As a result of that armed confrontation, one of the responding officers discharged their weapon, which struck Ms. Fitzsimmons once." Fitzsimmons was airlifted to a hospital in Boston, where she is currently in stable condition, the district attorney said.
The restraining order issued against her was a standard 209A order, which, according to state guidelines, is "designed to protect victims from abuse", Tucker explained. No further details about the order have been released.
Fitzsimmons got engaged to a North Andover firefighter late last year and is the mother of a baby boy born on February 16, according to local outlet CNHI.
She holds a degree in criminal justice and has been with the North Andover Police Department for around 18 months.
At the time of the incident, she was on administrative leave and had submitted a request to have her department-issued weapon returned. The reason for her leave remains unclear.
A Lot Still Shrouded in Mystery
The district attorney pointed out that the restraining order issued against Fitzsimmons required officers to collect any firearms inside the plaintiff's home.
According to WBZ-TV, the abuse prevention order submitted to the court suggested that Andover Police were fully aware of the potential risks involved in delivering the restraining order.
"Defendant is an officer with a license to carry. Plaintiff expressed concerns regarding Defendant's reaction to being served," the court document read.
Tucker chose not to reveal whether Fitzsimmons was carrying a weapon during the encounter with police.
It is still unclear who fired the shot that hit Fitzsimmons, though the district attorney mentioned that the officer involved has served on the force for over two decades.
