7 Deadly Police Shootings In Worcester County Since 2015

WORCESTER, MA — Local police have shot and killed seven people in Worcester County since 2015. The shootings took place during a variety of different events, and none of the officers were found to have wrongly used deadly force.

A Worcester officer shot and killed Phet Gouvonvong, 31, early Wednesday morning following a 90-minute standoff along Grafton Street. Gouvonvong had made a bomb threat, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said, and was found with a handgun following the deadly shooting.

Police use-of-force has been a major topic in the U.S. following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin. In a statement Thursday, the group Defund WPD highlighted that Gouvonvong's death was one of two deadly police shootings in the hours after the Chauvin verdict — and urged local officials to invest in nonviolent ways to intervene in cases where a person might be experiencing a crisis.

"We have long argued that social workers should respond to mental health crisis calls instead of police," the statement said. "No matter the best intentions of the [Worcester police] Crisis Intervention Team, research clearly indicates that professional, full-time social workers & licensed mental health clinicians make better crisis de-escalators than police officers who receive training in crisis de-escalation."

Here's a look at the other six recent deadly police shootings in Worcester County:

Philip Castonguay, Milford

Castonguay was shot on April 5, 2020, near his home along Glines Avenue. Milford officer Jeanne VanPatten-Steiger shot him twice in the chest after she went to Castonguay's apartment to take him into custody for an involuntary commitment. He was holding a metal pipe above his head, and VanPatten-Steiger was cleared in an investigation by Early's office.

Unidentified, Westborough

Sgt. Jon Kalagher shot and killed a man at the Windsor Ridge Drive apartment in November 2019 during a domestic violence incident. The man had repeatedly stabbed his wife, but she ran to a neighbor's apartment to call police. The man followed her to that apartment, according to Early's office, and continued to attack her, which is when Kalagher shot him. Kalagher was later given a District Attorney's Team Excellence and Merit award.

Joseph Loughery, Auburn

Loughery was shot in November 2018 at a Shell Station along Southbridge Street. He was sitting in a truck holding a rifle, and refused to put the weapon down, according to reports. Auburn police found him after he was reported missing from his New Hampshire home by a relative.

Walter Lynde, Spencer

Police went to Lynde's home in July 2017 on a report of a domestic violence incident. Lynde fled in his car, but later returned to his Northwest Road home. Lynde was holding what appeared to be a gun when he got out of his car, and a Spencer officer opened fire. Lynde had been holding a pellet gun.

Jorge Zambrano, Oxford

Zambrono was the main suspect in the May 2016 shooting death of Auburn officer Ronald Tarentino. State police went to an Oxford apartment complex looking for Zambrano, and he emerged from a closet and began shooting. A state trooper was shot in the shoulder during the incident, and Zambrano was killed.

Neil Seifert, Webster

In March 2015, Webster police went to a woman's North Main Street home for a domestic violence call. Meanwhile, Seifert drove to his father's home in Charlton to retrieve a shotgun. Seifert returned to Webster and fired two shots at police. They returned fire, killing the 40-year-old.