New Bedford, Massachusetts: Man Who Fired at Police on Blackmer Street Found Dead After Standoff

A man who fired at New Bedford police during a traffic stop on Wednesday evening and then fired again from a Blackmer Street house was found dead inside the house, and the Bristol County District Attorney's Office on Thursday identified him as Derek Rego, 39, of New Bedford.

Rego was pronounced dead at the scene at 153 Blackmer Street after officers found him in a stairwell with a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the district attorney's office said. He had no other injuries, and a firearm was resting on his abdomen. His official cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

A stop, gunfire and a child left in the Jeep

Shortly after 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, a member of the New Bedford Police Department's Detective Division tried to stop a red Jeep Cherokee in the area of Potomska Street and South Front Street, police said. The Jeep did not stop. In the area of South First Street and Blackmer Street, the driver stopped and fired at the detective, and the detective returned fire, police said.

The Jeep fled again and came to a stop at the intersection of Blackmer Street and South Second Street. Rego ran on foot into his residence at 153 Blackmer Street, police said. A 3-year-old boy, a relative of Rego, was found unharmed in the Jeep, according to the district attorney's office.

Standoff on Blackmer Street

Police set up a perimeter and evacuated residents of the area. While officers held the perimeter and helped with the evacuations, the suspect fired more rounds at police from the second or third floor of the residence, police said. A Massachusetts State Police trooper returned fire.

Officers kept trying to communicate with the suspect and de-escalate the situation. The Massachusetts State Police, the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council tactical team and negotiators came to the scene. A short time later, a single gunshot was heard from inside the residence, police said. After further attempts to make contact failed, the tactical team deployed a drone and found Rego dead inside.

No police officers, other public safety personnel or bystanders were hurt, Police Chief Jason Thody said. Mayor Jon Mitchell said on Thursday that he was grateful no one but the suspect was hurt.

The investigation is active and is being led by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, with the New Bedford Police Department. Police have not said why the detective tried to stop the Jeep.

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