After allegedly attacking a Lynn police officer and seizing his service weapon Thursday morning, a man killed himself in Lynn’s City Hall Square in front of horrified witnesses.
“Without provocation, [he] attacked the officer,’’ Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement.
The man’s identity was withheld until next of kin could be notified.
The unidentified officer working a private detail for Verizon was treated for minor injuries and placed on administrative leave.
A Memphis man visiting family witnessed the scuffle. “He was acting belligerent and the cop kind of noticed it and he approached him and the guy kind of went to get the gun from the cop,” said the man, who wished to remain anonymous. “The Verizon guy went to help him and somehow in the scuffle he managed to get the gun from the cop.”
The witness said the officer was shot in the hand, but a DA spokeswoman said he was treated for minor injuries.
“Then he takes the gun and shoots himself in the head and he just killed himself,” the witness said, as a white sheet still covered the dead man at the scene.
“There’s so many wackos out there, it’s crazy,” the witness added.
