< Back to front page Text size – +

MGH slaying to be investigated as police-involved shooting

E-mail|Link|Comments () October 28, 2009 06:25 PM

By Brian R. Ballou, Milton J. Valencia, John R. Ellement, Stephanie Ebbert, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

READING -- The security guard who fatally shot a knife-wielding patient at a psychiatric center on Tuesday was depicted today by his father as a kind and well-trained law enforcement officer.

Paul M. Langone (Globe file/1998)

Speaking briefly to reporters camped outside the family's home, Paul F. Langone described his 33-year-old son as "the type of person who would help anyone." The son, Paul M. Langone, is a Boston special officer, a designation given to trained security guards who are authorized to carry firearms and make arrests. Paul M. Langone shot and killed Jay Carciero, 37, after the patient stabbed his doctor during a therapy session at a Massachusetts General Hospital bipolar clinic.

"I'm very proud of him, but at the same time I feel bad because there was a loss of life," Paul F. Langone said today, describing his son as the "type of person who would help anyone on the side of the road."

Three television trucks and at least eight reporters remained camped outside the Langone family home here on a quiet side street not far from the intersection of Route 128 and Interstate 93. Paul F. Langone said his son is inside the beige, two-story frame house but would not be coming outside to speak.

Langone is a former amateur boxer who in 1998 won the Lowell Golden Gloves title in the 156-pound novice division by knocking out four straight opponents -- two of them in the first round. At the time, Langone was 21-years-old and working as a landscaper. He subsequently applied to the State Police, but was not accepted, according to one of his former boxing coaches. Langone has also worked as a bouncer at near Faneuil Hall.

It is not yet clear why Langone was at the Massachusetts General Hospital bipolar clinic Tuesday afternoon. It shares the fifth floor of a Staniford Street building with other hospital and medical offices, including a biostatistics office and a prosthodontics office.

His father would not discuss the subject today with the reporters camped outside his house. The father also took issue with the description of his son as a security guard, saying he was a well-trained special officer who provided security on properties in Boston.

"He is as wonderful a son as you would want to have," Paul F. Langone said.

Boston police have specific regulations for special officers, which can be found here. The regulations prohibit them from discharging their firearms except when "there is no less drastic means to defend oneself or another from an unlawful attack that he/she has reasonable cause to believe could result in death or great bodily injury.''

Though Langone was lauded as a hero, law enforcement officials have not yet exonerated him of any wrongdoing in the shooting.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, would not yet rule out charges against Langone, saying it was too early in the investigation to speculate. Investigators had not had a chance to talk to the victim, he noted. "Her condition has stabilized but she was grievously injured and for medical reasons we have not yet been able to interview her," Wark said this afternoon.

He cautioned against "drawing inferences" about the investigation and said prosecutors were merely following their procedures.

"I want to stress that an investigation of this nature is standard operating procedure any time one person dies at the hand of another," Wark said. "It's standard procedure to determine whether charges are warranted in any fatal shooting, whether it be by a police officer or a civilian.''

Authorities are still piecing together the exact sequence of events Tuesday afternoon at the MGH clinic, but promised a thorough investigation.

"We are going to investigate this case as if it was a police officer involved shooting," said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. "That's going to take some time."

Conley continued, "It was a chaotic scene with dozens and dozens of witnesses. We are really at this time just trying to assemble all the facts."

Outside the family home in Reading, Paul F. Langone said that his son wanted to become a Boston police officer.

"He loves this kind of work," the father said. "But what happened is a one in a million situation yesterday and in my point of view he couldn't have done more correct � I think the actions of what he did, coming to the aid of the woman, speak to his character."

At the same time, the father said he feel awful for the relatives of Carciero, who lived about two miles away in Reading. Paul M. Langone had never met Carciero or any of his relatives.

"We just feel terrible for them," Paul F. Langone said. "Our prayers are for their family."