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Rochester, NH (WMUR) — A wanted suspect is dead Monday after a pursuit and an officer-involved shooting in Rochester, officials said.
Douglas Heath, 38, was shot and killed around 3:15 p.m. after crashing his car at the intersection of Oak Street and Route 125, Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said.
Officers said state troopers were present, but MacDonald said it was not known who fired the fatal shot or shots.
MacDonald said that last week, Rochester police put out an officer safety briefing, saying they had credible information Heath was staying in Rochester, may be armed with three firearms and that he had “no intention of going to jail.”
Investigators said Heath had warrants for drug trafficking and fleeing from state police in Maine.
Officers spotted Heath’s car Monday and tried to pull him over. He eventually crashed his vehicle at the intersection of Route 125 and Oak Street.
Investigators said Heath got out of the passenger side and exchanged gunfire with officer. Heath was shot and died at the scene. A gun was found near his body.
Deborah Haynes-Whitehead witnessed the incident unfold. She said she and her husband first thought they were witnessing a car crash, but she said a man holding a gun then got out of a vehicle. Police told the man to drop the weapon, but the man didn’t, according to the witness. She said police then shot the man.
“I was thinking about my grandson and whether I’d see him again,” Haynes-Whitehead said. “And we slouched down in the truck and just sat and waited for someone to tell us to do something. You know, we were terrified to move the vehicle.”
“No officers or private citizens were physically injured in this incident,” MacDonald said in a press conference. “The troopers and officers were taken to the hospital where they were evaluated and released.”
Investigators said there were two Rochester officers and two state troopers on the scene at the time of the shooting. At this point it’s unclear who fired their weapons. Per protocol, all four are on administrative leave.
MacDonald said officials are still in the early stages of the investigation.
Anyone with information about this incident should contact state police at 603-679-3333.
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