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State Trooper Shot And Injured In Springfield

A Massachusetts state trooper was shot and injured New Year's Eve in Springfield, state police said. Troopers have arrested a person they believe fired the weapon.

The officer was shot while responding to a shots-fired alert at around 11:25 p.m. on Thursday.

State police said the bullet went through the trooper’s cruiser before striking him. Springfield police aided the trooper until he was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Police say he suffered non-life threatening injuries and has since been released from the hospital.

Troopers arrested Christopher Gardner, 31, and charged him with armed assault with 2 counts of intent to murder, assault and battery by discharge of a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm within 50 feet of a building.

Gardner was taken to the Hampden County Jail in Ludlow, where he's being held on $150,000 bail. He'll be arraigned in Springfield District Court on Monday.

State police have not identified the officer other than to say he's assigned to the agency's Springfield barracks and graduated from the State Police Academy in May.

The shooting remains under investigation.

State Police Superintendent Christopher Mason said in a statement the incident is a reminder that "no tour of duty is routine or predictable for law enforcement officers.”

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