David Green was laid to rest Friday, nearly one week after the retired Massachusetts state trooper was killed in a shooting in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
Green, 68, is one of two Black people who were killed in the shooting rampage Saturday that began when the gunman crashed a truck he'd stolen into a home. Ramona Cooper, a 60-year-old Air Force veteran, was also killed, and the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime.
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Outside his funeral in Winthrop, Green was remembered as a man who spent his life trying to make a difference in the lives of others -- right up until he was killed.
"When he heard the commotion on the road roadway, going to see if he could assist in some fashion is totally consistent with with Dave’s mindset," state police Commander Col. Christopher Mason told reporters.
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Law enforcement colleagues recalled the Winthrop resident as dependable and empathetic, with the gift of making quick connections with people.
Green's former landlord, David Redgrave, thought of him as a hero for what he'd been told about the incident.
"From what I understand, he tried to disarm the guy, and he didn't have a weapon or anything. So that's a hero" Redgrave said.
Both victims were honored at a vigil in Winthrop Thursday night, where members of both Green's and Cooper's families spoke. Hundreds of people came out to pay their respects, including Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, and security was tight. Police dogs swept the area beforehand and trucks blocked off nearby roads.
“I want to say this loud and clear — to my brother, all lives mattered,” said Ray Green, who remembered his brother David as someone who never missed a chance to do something good for something else.
A family spokesman read a statement from Cooper's son, Gary: “To my mom, Ramona, I love you always, and I can’t wait to see you again someday. You are truly missed."
Green and Cooper were each shot multiple times by Nathan Allen after he crashed a stolen box truck into a residential building not far from his condo.
Investigators found the 28-year-old gunman had made "some troubling white supremacist rhetoric" that targeted Black and Jewish people before he fatally shot Cooper three times in the back and shot Green four times in the head and three times in the torso. Witnesses said later Green was attempting to intervene.
The gunman was killed by police moments later. It's unclear where he was headed on the day of the shooting. He encountered several other people who were not Black and didn't harm them.
Sources tell NBC10 Boston that a backpack connected to the gunman was recovered Sunday morning not too far from where police say he stole a box truck Saturday afternoon, minutes before the rampage started.
The 28-year-old was not on the radar of law enforcement. His social media accounts also gave no hints that he held racist beliefs or might explain why he crashed a stolen truck and then gunned down a Black retired state trooper and a Black Air Force veteran.
