Man In Foxborough Murder-Suicide Used Stolen Gun, According To DA

FOXBOROUGH, MA — The Foxborough man who killed his 6-year-old son before shooting himself used a gun he stole from a friend, the Norfolk District Attorney's office said.

David Traub, a spokesperson for the DA's office, told the Boston Globe that the serial number on the .45 caliber handgun used by William F. Scaccia Jr.’s confirms that the weapon was taken from a friend. Scaccia shot his son, Anthony Scaccia, on Sept. 21 in the home where Anthony Scaccia lived with his mother.

Police received a call from a neighboring residence on East Street for what was initially believed to be a medical emergency. Inside the house, police found Anthony Scaccia suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Norwood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Scaccia was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators recovered two shell casings and a note. Investigators believe that Scaccia attempted to burn down the home, but Anthony Scaccia's grandmother, who lives at the home, was able to extinguish the small fire before police arrived.

A day after the murder-suicide, Shawn Devaney told police that Scaccia showed up at his home the day before the incident. They were not together for 10-15 minutes when Devaney used the restroom. When he learned of the attack, Devaney discovered that his gun was missing.

Devaney told police that the gun belonged to his friend until 2013 when Scaccia lost his license to carry. It was then that ownership of the gun was transferred to Devaney.

Court records obtained by multiple media outlets show a long history of legal trouble for Scaccia. He was scheduled to be arraigned in court Nov. 8 on allegations that he assaulted members of a family group and had a knife at a party in Foxborough. He was to face charges of assault and battery and assault with a dangerous weapon.

On Feb. 8, Foxborough Police Chief William Baker denied Scaccia a gun permit. Baker noted that Scaccia was the subject of a domestic restraining order and wrote, "I believe there is a preponderance of evidence in this administrative context to establish that you did violate the order; possessed a gun in violation of that order; and lied to the police during the course of their investigation while in possession of that firearm."

Family of Scaccia have said that the 49-year-old struggled with depression and did not get treatment following his military deployment to Iraq.

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Reporting from Alex Newman was used in this article.

Image via Foxborough Police Department