Police return fire, kill suspect in New Bedford

The trooper, who was not identified, was not seriously injured, and officials said his body armor might have saved his life. Officials said troopers fired back and killed the gunman after they came under fire.

The 6 a.m. shooting occurred on Shawmut Avenue during the execution of a search warrant at a multifamily home as part of an investigation into drug dealing. The alleged gunman was identified last night as Thomas Garnett, a 32-year-old carpenter and the father of the disabled boy. The boy and mother were apparently on the second floor at the time of the shooting and were not injured.

Neighbors seemed alarmed both by the predawn shooting and the fact that Garnett was the target of a drug investigation.

“They’re family-oriented people, and I’m having a hard time believing this,’’ said Judith McMullen, the property manager. She said she has heard no complaints of drug dealing.

“I don’t really understand what happened,’’ McMullen said. “It doesn’t seem likely. Maybe I’m missing a piece.’’

Yesterday afternoon, detectives assigned to the Bristol district attorney’s office, who were investigating the drug dealing, searched Garnett’s white Ford truck.

Officials said they had information leading them to believe he might have been armed, necessitating the special operations response during execution of the search warrant. Officials did not say yesterday whether drugs were confiscated, though at least two guns were found.

Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter said the shooting shows the need for toughened gun laws, particularly laws that allow for the immediate detention of a defendant found to have a gun.

“We have a situation where a state trooper was struck by gunfire - thankfully, he is safe and sound because he wore a vest - we have a situation where in the midst of the gunfire a woman and child were in the home,’’ he said. “If ever there has been an event in recent Bristol County history that captures the need for a change in law enforcement’s battle against illegal gun violence, this event captures it.’’

Sutter announced yesterday that he has turned the investigation of the shooting over to Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest because his troopers were involved.

The gunfight erupted when troopers tried to execute a “knock and announce’’ warrant at the home, meaning the terms of the warrant required them to make their presence known before entering. Garnett and the house had been the target of an ongoing drug investigation.

No other family lived at the two-story building, neighbors said.

Drug detectives and members of the State Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team, armed with shields and wearing body armor, entered the front hallway when someone suddenly fired multiple shots at them through the wall from inside the apartment, said David Procopio, a State Police spokesman.

One of the troopers was struck in the chest, but did not suffer any apparent injuries because “the body armor absorbed the impact of the bullet,’’ said Procopio.

Still under fire and “fearing for the safety of the team, a trooper or troopers discharged their weapons,’’ he said.

The trooper who was struck did not know he was hit until afterward, when he was checking his equipment.

For police, the episode was a frightening reminder of the dangers of executing search warrants, particularly the “knock and announce’’ warrants that are set by clerk magistrates and judges because of constitutional rights against unreasonable searches, but have been a source of concern for officers’ safety.

“It’s dangerous police work, and it’s a difficult balance for officers to be as community-friendly as they should be and as safe as they must be,’’ said New Bedford police Lieutenant Jeffrey Silva. He was speaking of shootings in general because his department was not involved in yesterday’s raid, but said the potential for facing an armed encounter is an increasing concern among police.

The shooting rattled the middle-income neighborhood of narrow streets and multifamily homes.

Detectives spent the day searching for evidence in the area. Streets were cordoned off late into the afternoon.

Garnett moved into the home in the spring with his boy, who neighbors said was about 8 years old, and the boy’s mother. It was not known yesterday whether Garnett was married to the woman.

In 2003, he served three months of probation for pushing a girlfriend during a dispute, but it was not know yesterday whether the girlfriend is the boy’s mother.

Neighbors said Garnett, the woman, and the boy seemed like a wholesome family. Lydia Cambra, 87, who lives across the street, said she saw them outside. Neighbors said the boy is blind and hearing impaired.

A friend, Jay, who would not give his last name, said he knew nothing of the drug-dealing allegations against Garnett, and called him a family man.

“They just kicked down that door, and all everybody heard was a barrage of bullets,’’ he said.

Another neighbor, Brenda Lagasse, 47, said she heard a dozen gunshots and ran outside.

“SWAT was here, police were here, paramedics were here, and I overheard the police say they had a warrant,’’ she said. “He started shooting, and the cops retaliated, and that was that.’’

The boyfriend of Garnett’s sister, Robert Overton, said in a telephone interview last night from Georgia that though he never met Garnett, he was well loved by his family.

“My girlfriend loved her brother,’’ Overton said. “He was a nice, honest, sweet guy that all the family loved. They took [the news] bad.’’

Overton said the family left their home in Harlem, Ga., yesterday to fly to Massachusetts. He said no one in the family knew anything about a drug raid, only that Garnett had been shot.

John R. Ellement of the Globe staff and Globe correspondents Jack Nicas and Maria Chutchian contributed to this report.