Investigators Continue Delving Into Why A South Carolina Naval Specialist Shot 2 In Hampton: Follow-Up

HAMPTON, NH — State troopers and Hampton police are continuing to investigate why a naval technician shot two people early Sunday morning and then took his own life.

Just after 1:15 a.m., Hampton police, state troopers, and others were sent to the area around Ocean Boulevard and P Street for a shots-fired report. When they arrived, they found a man, 23, and a woman, 25, who had been shot. They were both taken to the hospital for treatment.

At the intersection of P Street and Ashworth Avenue, about a block away, police saw a man matching the description of the suspect in the double shooting, Michael Garrity, the director of communications for the department, said.

“During that interaction,” he said, “the male pulled out a handgun and raised it. He then shot himself in the head while an officer fired one gunshot contemporaneously.”

The suspect, Tyshawn Cooper, 21, of Taylors, South Carolina, was declared dead at the scene. A state medical examiner determined his manner of death to be suicide due to the gunshot wound to the head.

“No law enforcement officers were injured during this incident,” Garrity said. “Although the officer (who) fired did not cause Mr. Cooper’s death, the Attorney General’s Office will complete a deadly force incident investigation.”

Both victims are still hospitalized.

Cooper, Garrity said, held the rank of Information Systems Technician Submarine Network Second Class and was assigned to the USS Hampton. The USS Hampton is currently undergoing maintenance at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Garrity said law enforcement agencies are working with their counterparts at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to conduct their respective review of this incident.

A free, 24/7, confidential service can provide people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, or those around them, with support, information, and local resources. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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