'A very difficult night': Springfield police officer seriously injured, 7 suspects arrested after shooting (2024)

Seven people, including several teenagers, were arrested in connection to a shooting in Springfield that left a police officer and Department of Transportation work with serious injuries.

The officer was shot in the face and leg as suspects in two separate vehicles fired at police Wednesday, the Springfield Police Department said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The officer, who has not been identified, remained at a Boston-area hospital Thursday. His injuries are not considered to be life-threatening, police said.

“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,” Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence E. Akers said in a statement. “The professionalism they showed speaks volumes about their character and work ethic.”

The incident began at about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday night, when detectives with the Springfield Police Firearms Investigations Unit were shot at by individuals in a Honda Civic on College Street, according to police.

Minutes later, as officers were trying to find the Civic, people in a Jeep Cherokee began shooting at an unmarked police cruiser near the intersection of State Street and Hunter Place using multiple weapons, including an AR-15, police said.

The cruiser was struck about five times, but officers were not hit, officials said.

The shooters then started firing an officer who encountered the shooting on his way to work, striking him, police said. That officer was rushed to Baystate Medical Center.

The Civic struck two Department of Transportation workers, seriously injuring one, before police located it in the area of Riverview Terrace, according to police.

Robert Willis III, 18, Alberto Torres, 18, and a 17-year-old, all from Springfield, were arrested after the Civic was found. Four firearms were located, two with modifications that made them fully automatic, police said.

The Jeep was later found at a home on Randall Place. Three guns were located, and firearm magazines and ammunition were found after a search of the house, according to police.

Isak Font, 18, Dwight Clarke, 26, and a 16-year-old were arrested in connection with the shots fired out of the Jeep. The three are suspected to have shot at the unmarked cruiser and the injured officer.

Jaime Griffin, 31, of Springfield, was arrested at the house on Randall Place and faces firearms charges.

Five suspects had previously been arrested on firearms charges, and Clarke had an outstanding firearms warrant, police said. The 16-year-old was out on bail in connection with a shooting.

The injured officer has been with the Springfield Police Department for seven years, police said, and was an officer in central Massachusetts before that. He received the department’s highest honor, the Medal of Valor, in 2023.

“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,” Akers said. “I also wish the DOT worker who was injured a speedy recovery.”

Mayor of Springfield Domenic Sarno also sent his well wishes to the officer and DOT worker and praised police for their quick response to the incident. He added that the city needs “help from the court system” to “keep repeat violent criminal offenders locked up.”

“And too with the young ages of these individuals, where are their families to stay on top of them?” Sarno said in a statement. “This could have been a far worse situation that could have been prevented if these individuals had been locked up.”