On June 26, a 28-year-old white man named Nathan Allen crashed what appears to have been a stolen truck into a building in the Massachusetts town of Winthrop—a few miles east of Boston. Allen then fled the scene of the crash, running into different people, many of whom had come toward him to see if he was okay, having been involved in a crash. Allen reportedly chose two people who he shot and killed; Both Ramona Cooper, a 60-year-old Air Force veteran, and 53-year-old David Green, a retired Massachusetts State Police Trooper, were murdered by Allen. Both were Black. Allen was then confronted by a Winthrop Police sergeant who shot and killed Allen.
On Sunday, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins told reporters that these tragic series of events was being investigated as a hate crime. She tied the deaths of Ramona Cooper and David Green by Allen to racism and white supremacy. “Yesterday, the violence and hate that unfortunately is all too common in this nation, came to the quiet town of Winthrop which was rocked by two murders and the subsequent death of the shooter by a member of law enforcement.”
Both Cooper and Green were shot within blocks of the crash, and both were separate incidents. According to Rollins, although Allen was approached by numerous people, including many who were not people of color, “They are alive. Two visible people of color are not. It could have been many, many more.” This along with other uncovered evidence has led Rollins and others in law enforcement to believe the crime was racially motivated.
According to reports, Allen, a married and employed man with a doctorate degree, stole a truck from a plumbing company a little while before 3 PM and then crashed it into a home. The Boston Globe reports that Allen jumped a nearby fence, subsequently shot and killed both Cooper and Green before being confronted by an officer, who shot and killed Allen after he refused to drop his weapon. The entire crime scene covers a quarter of a mile. Rollins released a written statement to the press that said an investigation of Allen revealed writings by him about “superiority of the white race” and of “whites being ‘apex predators.’” There also seems to be evidence of Allen drawing swastikas. It turns out that Allen and his new wife were profiled in the Boston Globe over the summer as a pandemic story.
The New York Times reports that though Allen passed by white residents during his rampage, the two Black individuals he came upon seem to have been targeted. Ramona Cooper was shot three times in the back, while David Green was shot four times in the head and three times in the torso.
Cooper’s son Gary Cooper told WBZ his mother “was a good person. She was the type of person to help anyone out.” Adding, “You know we’re in 2021. We shouldn’t be hating on other people based on the color of their skin but I guess we are not there yet. I got sick to my stomach when I found out it was racially motivated.”
Col. Christopher Mason of the Winthrop Police Department said that Green began his career as a police officer in 1980 and subsequently became a state trooper, retiring at the end of 2016. “Trooper Green was widely respected and well liked by his fellow troopers, several of whom yesterday described him as a ‘true gentleman’ and always courteous to the public and meticulous in his duties. From what we learned yesterday, he was held in equally high regard by his neighbors and friends in Winthrop.”
A former high school classmate and basketball teammate of Green, Nick Tsiotos, told the Globe that he was heartbroken over losing his friend. “He was the best there was of humanity.” Tsiotos had had coffee with Green Saturday morning before the terrible day’s events unfolded. “He was loved by all his classmates, all his neighbors. He had great character, he served with honor, he would help anybody, and that’s the kind of person he was, to go right into the terrible situation to try to save people.”
According to District Attorney Rollins, Allen’s firearm was a legally licensed weapon, and he had a legal license to carry it. According to Rollins there were no red flags in his background check and he was not on “her radar,” before the tragedy this weekend.
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On Sunday, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins told reporters that these tragic series of events was being investigated as a hate crime. She tied the deaths of Ramona Cooper and David Green by Allen to racism and white supremacy. “Yesterday, the violence and hate that unfortunately is all too common in this nation, came to the quiet town of Winthrop which was rocked by two murders and the subsequent death of the shooter by a member of law enforcement.”
Both Cooper and Green were shot within blocks of the crash, and both were separate incidents. According to Rollins, although Allen was approached by numerous people, including many who were not people of color, “They are alive. Two visible people of color are not. It could have been many, many more.” This along with other uncovered evidence has led Rollins and others in law enforcement to believe the crime was racially motivated.
According to reports, Allen, a married and employed man with a doctorate degree, stole a truck from a plumbing company a little while before 3 PM and then crashed it into a home. The Boston Globe reports that Allen jumped a nearby fence, subsequently shot and killed both Cooper and Green before being confronted by an officer, who shot and killed Allen after he refused to drop his weapon. The entire crime scene covers a quarter of a mile. Rollins released a written statement to the press that said an investigation of Allen revealed writings by him about “superiority of the white race” and of “whites being ‘apex predators.’” There also seems to be evidence of Allen drawing swastikas. It turns out that Allen and his new wife were profiled in the Boston Globe over the summer as a pandemic story.
The New York Times reports that though Allen passed by white residents during his rampage, the two Black individuals he came upon seem to have been targeted. Ramona Cooper was shot three times in the back, while David Green was shot four times in the head and three times in the torso.
Cooper’s son Gary Cooper told WBZ his mother “was a good person. She was the type of person to help anyone out.” Adding, “You know we’re in 2021. We shouldn’t be hating on other people based on the color of their skin but I guess we are not there yet. I got sick to my stomach when I found out it was racially motivated.”
Col. Christopher Mason of the Winthrop Police Department said that Green began his career as a police officer in 1980 and subsequently became a state trooper, retiring at the end of 2016. “Trooper Green was widely respected and well liked by his fellow troopers, several of whom yesterday described him as a ‘true gentleman’ and always courteous to the public and meticulous in his duties. From what we learned yesterday, he was held in equally high regard by his neighbors and friends in Winthrop.”
A former high school classmate and basketball teammate of Green, Nick Tsiotos, told the Globe that he was heartbroken over losing his friend. “He was the best there was of humanity.” Tsiotos had had coffee with Green Saturday morning before the terrible day’s events unfolded. “He was loved by all his classmates, all his neighbors. He had great character, he served with honor, he would help anybody, and that’s the kind of person he was, to go right into the terrible situation to try to save people.”
According to District Attorney Rollins, Allen’s firearm was a legally licensed weapon, and he had a legal license to carry it. According to Rollins there were no red flags in his background check and he was not on “her radar,” before the tragedy this weekend.
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