From: Christopher P. Reddy – Chief of Police
TO: Commanding Officers, All Divisions
Please Read at all Roll Calls
I would like to commend the following officers for their immediate response and subsequent heroic actions as they provided life-saving medical intervention during their response to a chaotic shooting scene, with multiple victims suffering gunshot wounds from an unknown assailant.
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- Officer Benjamin Craven
- Officer Freddy Demota Done
- Officer James Eldred
- Officer Belsar Gonzalez
- Officer Andrew Kreamer
- Officer Aedan Leydon
- Officer Nicholas Peveri
- Officer Ioan Rasinariu
- Officer Jose Torres
On December 26, 2023, at approximately 2032 hours, multiple units were dispatched to the area of the Pizza Hut restaurant at 39 State Street on a report of a person shot. While units were responding, Dispatch advised that there may have been multiple victims.
Officer Benjamin Craven and Officer Aedan Leydon, (C-14) were first to arrive on scene. The officers advised Dispatch that there were multiple victims, and they immediately began to assess the first victim that they encountered.
Officer Craven quickly realized that the party had been shot in the right thigh area and was bleeding profusely. Officer Belsar Gonzalez (C-18) then arrived to assist Officers Leydon and Craven. Due to the serious nature of the injury, the officers immediately provided lifesaving medical treatment by utilizing a tourniquet, with Officer Craven quickly applying it the to the victim’s right thigh. The officers then continued to assess the victim, and learned that in addition to his thigh, he had also suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and buttocks.
At the same time, Officer Craven advised arriving officers who were not engaged with a victim to begin securing the area, in order to preserve the scene. Throughout this period, the officers continued to communicate with the victim, while also demonstrating strong tactical medical skills as they worked together to l o c a t eand apply medical supplies so that they could pack the victim’s wounds and limit the loss of blood until EMS arrived.
As this was occurring, Officer Andrew Kreamer (C-8), Officer Ioan Rasinariu (C-7) and Officers Nicholas Peveri (C- 16) had also arrived on scene; and located and began treating a second victim who had suffered a gunshot wound to his right cheek. Officer Kreamer repeatedly communicated with the victim to reassure him that he would be okay in order to keep him calm, as they worked together to clear the blood from his face, conducted an assessment for any other injuries, and then began to bandage his wound.
A third victim was subsequently located by Officer Freddy Demota and Officer James Eldred (C-17) and Officer Jose Torres (C-18), and they immediately began an assessment and determined that he had suffered a gunshot wound to his lower abdomen. Officer Demota communicated with the victim to calm and reassure him, as Officers Torres and Eldred worked to pack and bandage his wounds to limit the loss of blood until EMS arrived.
Soon after this incident, the LPD was contacted by representatives from the Lynn Fire Department seeking to compliment and extend their appreciation for the medical skills demonstrated by Lynn Police personnel in their efforts to control the bleeding and secure these victims for transport to the hospital.
These officers responded to a highly stressful and inherently dangerous shooting incident, and acted urgently to locate the victims and provide medical intervention under extreme conditions. Throughout their response, they remained composed and act methodically, as they relied on their training and demonstrated strong tactical-medical skills in their efforts to save lives. Once the victims were secure and in transport to the hospital, they joined others in working to secure the scene and continue the investigation.
Their immediate response and professional actions to provide life-saving medical aid to multiple victims at a chaotic and unsecure scene represents the highest levels of professionalism and dedication to duty. It is highly likely that, if not for the actions of these officers, one or more of those victims would have died from their wounds. Instead, all three victims survived and are in the process of recovery.
I hereby order that Officer Benjamin Craven, Officer Freddy Demota-Done, Officer J a m e s Eldred, Officer Belsar Gonzalez, Officer Andrew Kreamer, Officer Aedan Leydon, Officer Nicholas Peveri, Officer Ioan Rasinariu, and Officer Jose Torres be commended for their actions, with a copy of this Commendation to be placed in each of their personnel files.
In addition, I would like to recognize the professional actions and dedication to duty exhibited by Officer Elizabeth Troisi (C-9), Officer Anthony Nikolakakis (C-10), Officer Tam Dinh (C-11), Officer Daniel Keogh (C-16) and Officer Chandler Laguerre (C-19), during their immediate response to this incident. Their coordinated actions to secure the scene, preserve evidence, and gather the witnesses that were essential in our ability to quickly determine the nature of what had occurred reflected the highest standards of performance. I hereby order that these officers be awarded a Letter of Recognition, with a copy to be placed in each of their personnel files.