Northfield Man ID'd; Killed During Officer-Involved Shooting

CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office has released the name and autopsy results of a man who died during an officer-involved shooting in Belmont on June 15, 2019. Michael Sheehan II, 45, of Northfield, was killed during the shooting, according to Jane Young, deputy Attorney General. An autopsy was performed on Sunday and determined that his cause of death was "multiple gunshot wounds of the trunk" and the manner of death is homicide.

"As used by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, homicide is defined as the killing of one person by another," a press statement noted. "The exact circumstances surrounding this incident remain actively under investigation."

No other information was released.

While the NH AG's Office has not released specific information about the incident, the circumstances seem to be connected to a criminal threatening with a firearm incident based on text communications between Sheehan and a female complainant.

The woman reported threatening messages to police and after investigating the matter, they released a BOLO (be on the lookout) officer safety notice about Sheehan, stating he was driving a silver Ford Explorer with a veteran vanity plate and was in possession of a firearm. The BOLO was released to all Belknap County police departments, as well as Franklin, according to scanner chatter.

At about 11:30 p.m., an officer reported to other officers that the victim in the case had received another text from Sheehan who reportedly stated that he "would be right over."

Officers stationed themselves along Route 140 including the Pine Gardens Mobile Home Park and the Coca-Cola plant in an attempt to intercept the vehicle believing that Sheehan might be heading to the area. They also informed dispatch that Tilton police should also be prepared to stop him on a felony charge.

At 11:37 p.m., one of the officers saw Sheehan's SUV pass his location, traveling west on Route 140, and he turned around to follow it. The officer continued to follow the vehicle but was instructed not to turn on his cruiser lights until others could get to his location.

About 4 minutes later, the officer informed others that the SUV was pulling over just past a cow farm near Highland Hills Farm.

"He's got a weapon," an officer stated.

Two minutes after that, dispatch asked if all of the officers were OK.

One replied, "All officers 10-5. He's down."

"10-5," the dispatcher replied. "Ambulance is on its way."

The officer requested that Route 140 be shut and a few minutes later, another officer requested dispatch to contact the county attorney, medical examiner, and major crimes unit so they could be called to the scene.

Police quickly blocked off access to South Road between Twin Bridge Road and Route 140 after the shooting in order to not disturb the crime scene.

This is the second time in two years that the major crimes unit has been called to Belmont for an officer-involved shooting. Joseph Mazzitelli of Belmont was shot by a police officer while trying to grab the officer's gun in September 2017.