The fatal shooting of a retired Massachusetts state trooper and an Air Force veteran is now being investigated as a hate crime.
Investigators found “some troubling white supremacist rhetoric” that targeted Black and Jewish people made by Nathan Allen, 28, before the shooting. CBS News reports that he wrote “about the superiority of the white race” and “about whites being ‘apex predators,'” and also drew swastikas.
The victims were identified Sunday as retired Massachusetts State Police Trooper Dave Green and Air Force veteran Ramona Cooper.
On Sunday, Allen was driving a stolen box truck in Winthrop at twice the speed limit when he crashed it into a house and another vehicle. After crashing the vehicle, Allen walked past multiple people who were not Black and then opened fire on Cooper and Green.
The suspect shot Cooper in the back three times and Green four times in the head, and three times in the torso. Both of the victims succumbed to their injuries. Allen was fatally shot by police.
“They are alive, and these two visible people of color are not,” Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins told reporters.
Two additional people were injured in the crash and were hospitalized, according to NBC Boston. They are expected to survive. A police officer received minor injuries during the incident and was taken to the hospital to be evaluated.
With the investigation into the shooting is ongoing, the motive for the shooting was not immediately made clear. But, Rollins promised to uncover the reasoning for Allen’s actions. According to the district attorney’s office, Allen was married and employed. Additionally, he had no prior criminal history and was legally licensed to carry a gun.
