Thursday, 4:30 PM
Franklin police kill armed man
By David Abel, GLOBE STAFF
A 42-year-old father of two who was facing divorce was shot to death Sunday by Franklin police who had gone to his home to enforce a restraining order requiring him to surrender his weapons and leave the premises, the county prosecutor said.
Lawrence J. McCarthy, a window installer who was served divorce papers on Friday, was called by Franklin police about 3:30 p.m., to notify him that a Norfolk judge had issued an order for him to vacate his home on Chestnut Street and give up his rifle and any other weapons, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating said.
Over the next two hours, McCarthy made threats of violence, said Keating, who declined to elaborate.
The threats prompted officers from Franklin and neighboring communities to surround McCarthy’s home, where he had lived with his wife and two children; a son in his early teens and a younger daughter, who were not in the home, Keating said.
Police attempted to negotiate with McCarthy by phone.
About 5:30 p.m., McCarthy walked out of a back entrance, holding a rifle with a telescopic sight, Keating said.
‘‘He raised it with two hands, in a menacing manner,’’ Keating said.
A 10-year veteran officer on the Franklin force fired one shot, killing McCarthy, Keating said.
He declined to say where McCarthy was hit, nor would he name the officer, whom he said did not have a similar incident on his record in Franklin. Keating said the officer was taken to a local hospital for counseling and placed on administrative leave, as is Franklin Police Department policy.
Asked if there was anything untoward about the officer’s actions, Keating said: ‘‘We don’t issue any comments about an investigation until the investigation is complete.’’
He said prosecutors are reviewing video and recordings of the events leading to the shooting. They’re also running ballistics tests and plan to review the medical examiner’s report.
Keating declined to comment on what led to the divorce filing or the restraining order.
‘‘All we can say is that threats had certainly escalated in recent days, and there was concern about violence,’’ Keating said.
David McCarthy, the dead man’s father, described his son as a ‘‘good boy who loved his family.’’
Reached by phone at his home in North Haven, Conn., where his son grew up with seven siblings, he said McCarthy and his wife, Tammy, had been married in the late 1980s and that his son installed windows and siding on homes.
‘‘He just ran into some tough times,’’ McCarthy said of his son. ‘‘This is just really a tragedy — and there’s too much of it around.’’
He said he has no reason to believe his son was trying to kill himself by threatening police. Keating declined to comment when asked if McCarthy had committed suicide by cop, a phenomenon in which people goad authorities into killing them.
Fridhar Chodavarapu, the McCarthy’s neighbor, said he had no idea they were having marital problems. "Larry was a nice guy. He was a helpful neighbor."
Globe Correspondents Sean Greene and Hailey Heinz contributed to this report.
