Rochester

Man killed by police in Rochester, NH, IDed as suspected car thief

Joseph Russell, 36, had been sought by police in connection to multiple car thefts, officials said

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Authorities released new details overnight on the police shooting that left a man dead Friday night in Rochester, New Hampshire.

Officers had chased the man, 36-year-old Joseph Russell, into a wooded area off Gooseberry Circle on Friday, according to the update from New Hampshire Attorney General's Office early Saturday morning.

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Russell had been sought since Thursday in connection with multiple car thefts.

Rochester police said he was intercepted on Route 16 when he abandoned the car he was driving and ran into the residences on Gooseberry Circle. He was told to surrender but tried to flee again when a state police K-9 brought him to the ground.

Officers said they noticed Russell pulling out a gun and shot him. Two opened fire, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, which was investigating the shooting, following protocol for police shootings.

Officials said no one else was hurt and there was no threat to the public.

An autopsy on Russell was completed Saturday, and it was determined that he died from multiple gunshot wounds, the Attorney General's Office announced. Russell's manner of death was ruled a homicide.

The investigation is ongoing, and officials say the identity of the troopers who used deadly force will be released once formal interviews of all involved in the incident occur in the coming days.

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