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Cop Wounded, Suspect Dead In Boston Shootout

A suspect in a motor vehicle stop opened fire on Boston police Friday and seriously wounded an officer before being killed by authorities. An apparent bystander was also injured in the shootout.

The shootout happened at about 6:40 p.m. Friday in the city's Roxbury section.

In a briefing, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said police were watching a car and pulled it over, when one of the occupants got out and shot at police. Evans said the officer was shot just below his right eye and is hospitalized in critical condition in an induced coma.

“He is in tough shape," Evans said of the officer, who was later identified by police as 34-year-old John Moynihan, a six-year veteran of the force.

The commissioner said the suspect died at the scene, at Humboldt Avenue and Ruthven Street, and a woman suffered a flesh wound to her arm.

Evans said three other officers were taken to a hospital with stress-related problems.

The commissioner said Moynihan is on the police Youth Violence Task Force and is a highly decorated military veteran.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the Officer injured tonight, his family and friends and the entire Boston Police Department during this difficult time," Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement. "These acts of violence have no place in our neighborhoods. Our community is stronger than ever, and tonight we are thankful for all of those who put their lives on the on the line every day to protect our City."

With reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom

This article was originally published on March 27, 2015.

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