AUBURN, Mass.— A manhunt was underway Sunday for a suspect who shot and killed a police officer during a traffic stop in central Massachusetts, authorities said.
Auburn police Officer Ronald Tarentino was shot about 12:30 a.m. Sunday after stopping a vehicle on a residential road, Chief Andrew Sluckis said during a news conference. The vehicle’s occupant shot Tarentino and then fled the scene, Sluckis said. Auburn is about 45 miles southwest of Boston.
The 42-year-old Tarentino was taken to UMass Medical Center in Worcester, where he was pronounced dead. He had been with the Auburn police force for two years and before that worked with the Leicester Police Department in his hometown.
Police did not provide details about the suspect, saying the investigation is in the early stages. State Police divers searched a pond near the traffic stop.
