Man, 28, who shot and killed two black bystanders in Massachusetts after stealing a box truck and slamming it into another car was 'fueled by white supremacy', DA says
The white man who shot and killed two black bystanders in Massachusetts last month was 'fueled by white supremacy,' the Suffolk County District Attorney said.
Nathan Allen, 28, stole a large box truck before slamming into another car and a home in Winthrop before his violent rampage in which he shot dead a black Air Force veteran and a retired black state trooper.
David Green, a 58-year-old retired Massachusetts State Police trooper, and Romana Cooper, a 60-year-old Air Force veteran, were killed in the horrific attack. Allen was then shot by police and was taken to a local hospital where he died.
Rachael Rollins, the Suffolk County District Attorney, said in a press release on Wednesday that journals recovered from his apartment showed how he was 'fueled by white supremacy.'
'Nathan Allen had two weapons with him on June 26th, a .9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol and a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. In addition to his weapons, he also carried hate fueled by white supremacy,' the press release reads.
Nathan Allen, 28, stole a large box truck before slamming into another car and a home in Winthrop before his violent rampage
Good on paper: Nathan Allen's social media posts portrayed him as a loving husband to his newlywed wife, Audrey (pictured on their wedding day last September), a healthcare professional and an animal lover. Police say he shot dead two black bystanders in cold blood
Allen is seen brandishing a gun during the deadly incident in Winthrop, Massachusetts, on Saturday, which ended with the shooter being killed by the police
On his social media, Allen cultivated an image of a mild-manner healthcare professional who was in love with his newlywed wife, cared for rabbits and enjoyed European travel.
However, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office has released excerpts of Allen's journals, including one in which he wrote: 'White people are the worlds apex predators.'
He also wrote how 'the white race is superior' and how 'whites in the USA are waking up' to the 'fact' that black people 'know they are inferior to us.'
'Blacks are f**king losers. All of them,' he wrote.
In a different notebook, he drew two swastikas and wrote: 'Whites will play the knockout game with n**s. All its gonna take is a lil nudge, then whites in the US will snap and kill all the s**tskins.'
'It's in our blood. Its nature. Racism is good. Natural. Killing s**tskins is in our blood. We need to do it. We are apex predators,' he continued.
Less than 48 hours before Allen shot and killed Staff Sergeant Cooper and Trooper Green, he penned an entry into a notebook he called 'The Allen Diaries.'
In that entry, Allen wrote: 'I remember the first black I ever hated…Darrell or…Some f**king r**arded monkey n****r name. A f**king smelly violent r**ard. I can see it immediately. 1,000,000 yrs. of evolution molded me to hate these subhumans.'
Two pages later in 'The Allen Diaries,' he wrote: 'Through middle and high school I met n****r after n****r that was just f**king terrible to be around. I'm done. They f**king suck.'
He then wrote how 'racism is healthy and natural' and how 'holding it in is bad for you' while the final page of his diary reads 'Jesus Christ I hate n****s.'
Allen wrote that he hoped he could turn his newlywed wife, Audrey, 'to the truth.'
In his diary entries, Allen also made misogynistic entries writing that 'women do not understand men' and 'men need to kill things.'
One of the victims was David Green, 58, a retired Massachusetts state trooper who served for 36 years and was described as the 'quintessential pro.' The second victim was Ramona Cooper, 60, a retired Air Force staff sergeant
Rollins said that the Allen family is 'devastated' by the deaths and have met with investigators and cooperated 'at each turn.' Members of the Allen family who have cooperated include his parents and sibling, his wife Audrey, and her parents.
'We would not have had immediate access to all of the information we do now without their full cooperation. Further, there has been no indication or evidence that the Allen family was aware of Nathan's intent or apparent ideologies,' Rollins said.
'They have stated that they denounce any form of hatred or racism and request privacy during this difficult time. All three of these families – the Coopers, the Greens, and the Allens - are survivors of homicide, and my office will provide resources and assistance in whatever way we can for them.'
During the rampage, Allen walked past several other people who were not black and didn't harm them, Rollins said during a recent press conference.
'We are learning more every day, but I am confident saying that there was hate in this man's heart,' Rollins told reporters.
The district attorney added that investigators believe Allen acted alone, but they are still trying to determine when and how he became radicalized.
Allen's Facebook page mostly contains pictures of him with his wife, Audrey, from their travels in Vienna, Venice and Rome, as well as posts about adopting rabbits, as the couple had a pet rabbit of their own named Sigmund.
The two met at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, where they graduated in 2014. They attended the university at the same time as convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev. Their class had nearly 1,600 students, and it is not known if Allen and Tsarnaev knew each other.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen went on to earn a doctorate in physical therapy from MGH Institute of Health Professions in 2020 and previously worked as a caregiver at a nursing home, and a rehabilitation technician.
Allen's engagement to Audrey at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year was glowingly profiled by The Boston Globe and the couple were married on September 4 at the nursing home where the bride's beloved 92-year-old grandfather lived, with some 200 people tuning in via Zoom.
Audrey Allen, formerly Mazzola, has not made any public statements concerning her husband's actions.
Nathan's final post on Facebook appeared on June 22, when he wished his wife a happy birthday. He posted two pictures of the couple, including one of them kissing on their wedding day.
'Happy birthday to my beautiful wife Audrey Allen,' he wrote.
According to the couple's now-defunct wedding website, the two met at Birch Grille at UMass Dartmouth in October 2011 and went on their first date at a McDonald's nearly two years later.
'Seven years, three apartments, and two rabbits later, Audrey and Nathan decided to tie the knot amidst the backdrop of a global emergency,' read the description.
Nathan proposed to his college sweetheart on February 29, 2020, after Audrey returned home from a Bernie Sanders rally.
As reported by the Globe, the groom-to-be had filled their condominium apartment in Winthrop with candles and tied a note to the neck of the coupe's rabbit, Sigmund, which read: 'will you marry my dad?'
Nathan first met wife Audrey at University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth in 2011. The couple's engagement was glowingly profiled by the Boston Globe and the couple were married on September 4
The couple owned a condominium apartment in Winthrop, not far from the scene of Saturday's shooting rampage
Allen, pictured dancing with wife Audrey, was said to have left his apartment on Friday night, never to return
It is unclear at this time how Allen became radicalized, and when and why he legally obtained a handgun, which he was seen carrying during the rampage.
WCVB reported that Allen left his apartment the Friday night before the shooting and never returned.
In a tweet mourning the two victims, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called the deadly attack in Winthrop a 'despicable act.'
Before the fatal encounter, Allen wasn't on the DA's office's radar. He was married, employed had a doctorate and no criminal history, Rollins said after the rampage.
'To all external sources he likely appeared unassuming,' DA Rollins said.
'And then, yesterday afternoon he stole a box truck, crashed it into another vehicle and a property, walked away from the wreckage interacting with multiple individuals and choosing only to shoot and kill the two black people he encountered.'
Green's longtime friend, Nick Tsiotos, said the two had coffee together just hours before the attack. He said the retired trooper had been sitting outside his home and tried to help after hearing the crash.
'He went out and tried to do what he was doing for 36 years with the state police: trying to help save lives and help save people,' Tsiotos, who attended high school with Green, told WCVB-TV. 'I really believe he saved people's lives. Dave probably stopped him from going into homes and killing people.'
Allen (left) attended the university at the same time as convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev (right). It is not known if Allen and Tsarnaev knew each other
Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason said Green retired from the state police in 2016 after nearly 40 years in law enforcement. He also served in the Air Force.
'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,' Mason said in a statement after the shooting.
'From what we learned yesterday, he was held in equally-high regard by his neighbors and friends in Winthrop.'
Cooper's son, Gary Cooper Jr, remembered his mother as 'caring and selfless' and always ready to help anyone in need.
'We are heartbroken and she will be missed, just a senseless thing to have happened,' he said in a statement to WCVB-TV.
Cooper, who is survived by her son, two grandchildren, and her twin sister, most recently worked at a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs facility on Boston's Jamaica Plan neighborhood.
'She was a beloved colleague who will be greatly missed,' Kyle Toto, a VA spokesperson, told The Boston Globe after the shooting.
A gunman has shot two people in suburban Boston before being shot by police, in an incident that saw a plumbing truck crash into the side of a house
In this Saturday photo, the wreckage of a car sits on a sidewalk after a stolen truck collided it and crashed into a building before a suspect fatally shot two people in Winthrop
Cooper's son, Gary Cooper Jr, remembered his mother (left and right) as 'caring and selfless' and always ready to help anyone in need.
Flowers and notes left on the fence in Winthrop on Monday, two days after the deadly rampage
Green retired from the state police in 2016 after nearly 40 years in law enforcement. He also served in the Air Force. Cooper, is survived by her son, two grandchildren, and her twin sister
Medics wheel a gurney toward the scene after two people were shot in suburban Boston
Police secure the scene after a large truck crashed and shots were fired
The incident unfolded around 2:45pm on June 26 in the city of Winthrop, about six miles outside of Boston, when Allen crashed the stolen box truck into the building.
He walked away from the crash and shot Cooper in the back multiple times and Green in the head, neck and torso, Rollins said.
When responding officers got to the scene, a Winthrop police sergeant found Cooper and Green on the ground with gunshot wounds, quickly identified and confronted Allen, and shot him, police said.
Rollins said the police sergeant followed protocol by telling Allen to drop the gun before shooting him and then 'immediately rendered' aid.
'This Police Sergeant, like Trooper Green and Staff Sergeant Cooper, is a hero,' Rollins said after the shooting.
'The Sergeant stopped a volatile and escalating situation, saving lives, and protecting the community he serves.'
The Winthrop police sergeant who shot the gunman was placed on administrative leave, as part of standard protocol.
Winthrop Police Chief Terence Delehanty told Masslive.com, 'We have no tolerance for hate in this community.'
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