Lawrence Mayor Daniel River said Thursday domestic violence is a serious problem for the town after a man shot his girlfriend and then took his own life on Tuesday.
"It is a top priority for us to do everything in our power to keep victims of domestic violence safe and be sure that justice is served," Rivera said in a statement released Thursday.
An armed man barricaded himself inside a Lawrence apartment building on Tuesday, eventually shooting his girlfriend and then taking his own life as emergency crews blocked off the neighborhood.
Police said the suspect, 34-year-old Antonio Gonzalez, took his own life after shooting his 36-year-old girlfriend Yenny Santos. Officials said one of the bullets grazed her head and the other hit her in the hand. She was transported to Lawrence General Hospital before being taken to a hospital in Boston in critical condition.
Santos’ 4-year-old son, who was inside the home at the time of the incident, was rescued by SWAT team members and found to be unharmed. A 10-year-old child was at school during the incident. Both were taken into custody by the Department of Children and Families.
Lawrence Police were shot at by the suspect before they were able to retreat from the scene.
"Two officers went off on scene and were engaged in gunfire with a single male, after the gunfire they retreated," Chief James Fitzpatrick said.
Police cordoned off the neighborhood and evacuated people from buildings near the three-story apartment building where the shooter was believed to be hiding. People were also asked to stay away from the area. Roads have since reopened in the neighborhood.
Relatives said Santos and Gonzalez had been having trouble and she had recently obtained a restraining order against him. When she returned home, Santos’ relative told 7News that she believed Gonzalez was moving out. Instead, he shot her.
An investigation is ongoing but police believe this is a case of domestic violence.
"Last summer, after a domestic violence incident that ended in a murder-suicide we found that the restraining order process was broken," River said in the statement. "We thought we fixed this problem."
Read the mayor’s full statement below:
As you know, on Tuesday, we had a domestic violence incident that with the help from the Lawrence Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police, Essex County Sheriff’s Department and others, ended with the saving of a mother and young child. As I stated on Tuesday, domestic violence is a problem not only in our community but in our society and it is a problem that we need to work on diligently together.
Through media reports and some investigation, we became aware that the shooting victim was granted a restraining order one day prior to this incident, and the Lawrence Police Department received that restraining order minutes before the incident. This did not afford the police department the opportunity to attempt to serve this restraining order.
Last summer, after a domestic violence incident that ended in a murder-suicide we found that the restraining order process was broken. I directed our police department to bring order and accountability to the court’s antiquated fax process. We thought we fixed this problem. This included establishing an email process that ensured every restraining order faxed to the police department was emailed instantaneously. The email allowed not only for immediate reception but a record of receipt and a way to archive and account for all restraining orders. To ensure the more rapid and effective service of restraining orders on defendants, the Chief also assigned one police officer to be the point of contact and to do nothing else but serve restraining orders.
The city server we use for faxes went down, preventing all of the city’s faxes from being emailed. All of them were released on Tuesday afternoon and the police began their process.
I am meeting with the administration of the Lawrence District Court and Police Chief today to discuss what happened and develop a strategy to expedite this delivery of restraining orders. Simultaneously, we are talking with our I.T. department to order a new server and create a dedicated fail safe environment for these communications. It is clear that every moment counts. I am sure that the public will be shocked to find out that such an important document is being transmitted in such an imperfect way.
To reiterate, domestic violence is a serious problem not only for the City of Lawrence, but nationwide. It is a top priority for us to do everything in our power to keep victims of domestic violence safe and be sure that justice is served. It is important for anyone in a domestic violence situation to please continue to use the restraining order process, including filling out the form completely and as accurately as possible. A restraining order is a civil document—it does not give a police officer the right of arrest. If the abuser is known to have access to weapons—legal or illegal, it is important to note that on the application—this allows the police immediate authority to remove weapons from the property. We will work to build higher confidence in this process.
Again – we had a tragic domestic violence incident that with the help from the Lawrence Police the Massachusetts State Police and others, ended with saving the life of mother and young child
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