7 suspects arrested in connection with shooting Springfield police officer (2024)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Seven people were arrested in connection with shooting a Springfield police officer Wednesday night.

According to a news release from Springfield Police Spokesperson Ryan Walsh, at around 10:40 p.m., detectives in the Firearms Investigation Unit were conducting an operation on College Street when they were shot at by individuals in a Honda Civic.

Shortly after, people in a Jeep Cherokee shot and struck an unmarked cruiser with an AR-15 style rifle and other firearm(s) approximately five times on State Street near Hunter Place. No officers were hit.

A Springfield officer driving to work was then shot by a suspect in the Jeep. The officer stopped in the area of the 600 block of State Street and was taken to Baystate Medical Center by Springfield detectives and a Squad Supervisor with serious injuries. The officer was shot in the face and leg and is expected to recover at a Boston area hospital.

Austin Porter of Easthampton tells 22News, “Oh it’s a horrible thing to hear when anybody gets shot it’s not good news and that he’s had to have been shipped down to Boston for treatment tells to me it’s serious and that’s a shame.”

The officer has been with the department for seven years and previously worked in central Massachusetts. The officer, whose name is not being released at this time was a recipient of the Medal of Valor in 2023.

“I believe in gun control,” Porter adds. “We have more guns than any other country in the world and we have more gun deaths, and I think they’re related.”

Officers located the Civic in the area of Riverview Terrace. The driver allegedly struck two MassDOT workers, one seriously. Three occupants were arrested on the I-91 on ramp, 18-year-old Robert Willis III, 18-year-old Alberto Torres, and a 17-year-old boy, all from Springfield. Police seized four firearms, two of which had Glock Switches attached, making those firearms fully automatic.

The Jeep was founded at a home on Randall Place. Police arrested three suspects, 18-year-old Isak Font, 26-year-old Dwight Clarke, and a 16-year-old boy, all from Springfield. Three firearms were seized. A fourth suspect was arrested inside the home, 31-year-old Jaime Griffin. A search warrant was conducted at around 5 a.m. and police seized additional firearm magazines and ammunition.

Isak Font allegedly used an AR-15 style rifle to shoot a Springfield police officer

The seven suspects were arrested and are being arraigned in Springfield District Court. Police say that 18-year-old Isak Font allegedly used the rifle in the shooting of the officer and cruiser.

There were several incidents involving police in the city of Springfield overnight, closing roadways and highways from the South End Bridge to State Street and even to Interstate 91. State Police were seen there alongside Springfield officers, looking at multiple damaged cars. The roadway was closed for hours.

A sign taped to the front door of the CVS store on State Street read: “Closed- Due to live shooting we are temporarily closed tonight until 7:00 A.M.” The location is normally open 24 hours a day.

VIDEO: 22News 6 a.m. update

PHOTOS: Police activity shuts down Springfield

STATEMENTS: Police investigations

Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence E. Akers stated, “First, I want to send out my thoughts and prayers to our injured officer and his family. We will be by his side throughout the recovery process, and I want his family to know that we’ll be here for him. I also wish the DOT worker who was injured a speedy recovery. I am incredibly proud of our officers involved who were shot at, had to see a fellow officer shot and still were able to get every single suspect and seven illegal firearms off our streets during a very difficult night. The professionalism they showed speaks volumes about their character and work ethic. Every officer working chipped in to make sure these suspects were not able to continue this brazen behavior that put our officers and our citizens in the line of fire. Every day our officers came into work not knowing what they will face, but I can say without a doubt that when they face these potentially deadly situations they do so with courage and are a testament to the profession.”

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno states,“First of all my thoughts, prayers, and encouragement for good health and a speedy recovery go out to our brave and decorated officer and to his family, and to the Mass DOT workers and others who were subject to these wanton criminal acts. Just two days ago we marked the twelfth anniversary of Officer Kevin Ambrose making the ultimate sacrifice to save a mother and her child. Thank God we’re not facing the same situation right now with our brave, dedicated, and decorated officer who was shot in the face and the leg. This was a massive and sprawling multiple area crime scene and I want to commend the Springfield Police Department and the men and women of our State Police and the efforts of Senior Captain Trent Duda, Deputy Chief Steve Kent, FIU Commander Captain Brian Keenan, and Superintendent Akers for being able to arrest all those involved and take 7 more guns off our streets and out of our neighborhoods in a quick fashion. I appreciate the outreach of state Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy for any assistance we might need. It once again comes down to and what assistance that is desperately needed is that all these individuals are repeat violent criminal offenders all with prior firearm charges and many out with current firearms charges. Many of the individuals are of a young age, even a juvenile who is out after shooting another person. So the real help we need is for our court system and some of our judges to keep these repeat violent criminal offenders locked up off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. By not doing this, and as Captain Keenan indicated, in the debriefings with the individuals they arrest they fear no repercussion from the courts which in turn emboldens them to create more havoc on our streets, in our neighborhoods, to our residents and businesses. And too with the young ages of these individuals, where are their families to stay on top of them? No matter how many millions of dollars we pump into education and active youth development, individuals such as these go down a different negative path. So the help we really need is from our court system and some of our judges to keep these repeat violent criminal offenders locked up, and we need families to step up. I will continue to push my bailreform legislation through state Representative Puppolo. This could have been a far worse situation that could have been prevented if these individuals had been locked up.”

22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts in March 1953. Watch the 22News digital edition on weekdays at 4 p.m.