Man killed in highway shooting in western Massachusetts, state police say

A death investigation is underway after a man was killed in a brazen highway shooting in Chicopee on Tuesday night, state police said.

The man, who was not identified, was reportedly traveling with others in an SUV on Interstate 391 in Chicopee when another vehicle drove up next to the SUV and someone fired gunshots into the SUV, killing the man, state police said.

At approximately 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, state police received a report of an apparent car-to-car shooting on I-391 south in Chicopee.

Troopers who responded to the scene learned that two victims from one of the vehicles had gone to Baystate Medical Center on their own.

One victim, the 35-year-old man, was rushed into surgery but did not survive, state police said. The extent of another victim’s injuries was not known on Wednesday.

State police detectives responded to the hospital and interviewed three other occupants of the vehicle, another victim, and two others who were not injured.

A preliminary investigation found that the victims’ SUV was traveling southbound on I-391 in the area of the 2.6-mile marker when another vehicle pulled up along the victims’ driver’s side and gunshots were fired into the victims’ vehicle, state police said.

The occupants of the SUV stopped to try to flag help, but when no passing vehicles stopped, they drove themselves to the hospital, state police said.

Members of the State Police Crime Scene Services Section and Firearm Identification Section responded to the shooting scene, where they recovered evidence from the roadway.

Springfield police responded to the hospital to assist state police investigators.

Just weeks earlier, 37-year-old Justin Parker of North Attleboro was killed in a highway shooting on Route 95 in Foxboro.

Police have released dashboard cam video of the suspect car, but there have been no arrests.

“Nowadays you just never know if somebody has a gun and is feeling a certain way,” said Lauren Sevion, a driver from the Bronx, NY.

She regularly commutes from New York to Boston, and she tells me she’s constantly aware of other drivers, and tries not to react to them.

“I have no defense against that, so I’m just going to try to stay safe,” Sevion said.

“People just don’t know how to control their anger it escalates a weapon comes out, and unfortunately people aren’t afraid to use them anymore,” Jay Costello of Webster added.

Veteran Mass Pike drivers, like trucker Matt Edwards, tell me they learned long ago, its best to stay out of the way of angry drivers.

“You never know who’s going to follow you home or something, or pull over here (at the Mass Pike Service Center in Framingham),” Edwards said.  “You just got to let it go, just keep driving. Hopefully drive tomorrow.”

Mass State Police say they have made no arrests in the Chicopee or Foxboro fatal highway shootings. There is no indication these two shootings are connection.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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