A 31-year-old Lakeville man, Gregory Buckley, was shot and killed by Lakeville police officers on Saturday afternoon, September 26, 2026, inside his family’s home on Heritage Hill. Police had gone there on a well-being check that a relative requested in person at the police station. Four Lakeville officers were taken to the hospital for evaluation and released.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz announced the shooting and said Massachusetts State Police detectives are investigating. What follows is what the district attorney’s office has said so far, and how Massachusetts law handles a fatal police shooting from this point forward.
What the district attorney’s office has said
According to the account released by Cruz’s office and reported by the Fall River Reporter, WCVB, NBC10 Boston and Boston 25:
- At about 2 p.m. on Saturday, a resident walked into the Lakeville Police Department and asked for a well-being check. The resident said a family member with a firearm was “disturbed and acting erratically” at their home at 8 Heritage Hill.
- Lakeville police went to the home with the person who reported it, who let the officers in.
- In a second-floor bedroom, officers encountered Buckley, who the district attorney’s office says was pointing a firearm at them. Officers told him to drop the gun. He refused, gunfire was exchanged, and Buckley was struck.
- Officers gave first aid. Buckley was taken to Morton Hospital in Taunton, where he was pronounced dead.
- Four Lakeville officers were taken to the hospital for evaluation and released. The district attorney’s office has not said whether any officer was struck.
- WCVB reported that Cruz confirmed the officers were wearing body cameras and that the cameras recorded the entire incident.
The officers have not been named. The district attorney’s office has not said how many officers fired, how many shots were fired, what kind of gun Buckley had, or whether he was licensed to have it. The investigation is ongoing, and this account comes entirely from the district attorney’s office. It has not been tested in any proceeding.
Who investigates a police shooting in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, a death by violence falls under the medical examiner statute. Under G.L. c. 38, § 4, when a death appears to be “due to violence or other unnatural means,” the chief medical examiner takes jurisdiction, and the scene “shall not be disturbed” until the medical examiner or “the district attorney or his representative” arrives or gives directions. In cases where the district attorney is to be notified, the medical examiner may not disturb the body or the scene without the district attorney’s permission.
That is why the district attorney in the county where the shooting happened runs the investigation, and why the detectives are State Police detectives assigned to that office rather than the department whose officers fired. In Plymouth County, that is Cruz’s office.
The district attorney also has a second tool. Under G.L. c. 38, § 8, the attorney general or a district attorney “may, regardless of whether or not action has been taken by the office of the chief medical examiner, require an inquest to be held in case of any death.” If one is ordered, the district court with jurisdiction holds it. An inquest is a judicial fact-finding proceeding, not a criminal trial. Whether one is held here is up to the district attorney or the attorney general.
The legal standard for deadly force
Massachusetts has had a statutory deadly force standard since the 2020 police reform law. It is in G.L. c. 6E, § 14(b):
“A law enforcement officer shall not use deadly force upon a person unless de-escalation tactics have been attempted and failed or are not feasible based on the totality of the circumstances and such force is necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person and the amount of force used is proportionate to the threat of imminent harm.”
The statute sets three conditions. De-escalation must have been tried and failed, or not been feasible. Force must be necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person. And the force must be proportionate to that threat. The investigation into Saturday’s shooting will be measured against those conditions. The body camera footage Cruz described is the kind of evidence that answers them.
The same law created a duty to intervene. Under G.L. c. 6E, § 15(a), an officer who sees another officer “using physical force, including deadly force, beyond that which is necessary or objectively reasonable” must step in to stop it, unless doing so would put the officer or another identifiable person in imminent harm.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, created by the same law, oversees officer certification. It is a separate track from any criminal review by the district attorney.
A family’s other option: the extreme risk protection order
This case began with a family member worried about a relative with a gun. Massachusetts law gives families a court process for exactly that situation, the extreme risk protection order, often called a red flag order, in G.L. c. 140, §§ 131R to 131Y.
- Who can ask. Under G.L. c. 140, § 121, a petitioner may be a family or household member of the person, the local licensing authority, a law enforcement agency or officer that has dealt with the person in the last 30 days, or a health care provider, among others.
- What the petition says. Under § 131R, the petitioner states, under the pains and penalties of perjury, the facts and reasons for believing the person “poses a risk of causing bodily injury to self or others” by having a firearm, and the number, types and locations of the guns.
- How fast it works. Under § 131T, a court can issue an emergency order without notice to the person, before any hearing, if it finds reasonable cause to believe the person poses that risk. An emergency order expires after 10 days unless a hearing is scheduled.
Nothing released so far says whether anyone sought an order in this case, and an order is a court process that takes time. When a family member is in immediate danger, the answer is still to call 911. The red flag process is for the situation where there is time to go to court.
What comes next
- The medical examiner’s findings on cause and manner of death.
- The district attorney’s review. Cruz’s office will decide whether the shooting was lawful under the statutory standard. There is no fixed deadline.
- Whether the body camera footage is released. Cruz has confirmed it exists. He has not said when, or whether, it will be made public.
- Whether an inquest is ordered under c. 38, § 8.
This article will be updated as the district attorney’s office releases more information.
Frequently asked questions
What happened in the Lakeville police shooting?
On September 26, 2026, at about 2 p.m., a relative asked Lakeville police for a well-being check on a family member with a firearm. According to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, officers found Gregory Buckley, 31, in a second-floor bedroom pointing a gun at them. He refused to drop it, gunfire was exchanged, and he died at Morton Hospital. Four officers were evaluated at a hospital and released.
Who is investigating the Lakeville shooting?
Massachusetts State Police detectives, under the direction of Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz. Under G.L. c. 38, section 4, the district attorney controls the scene of a death by violence along with the medical examiner.
When can Massachusetts police use deadly force?
Under G.L. c. 6E, section 14(b), only when de-escalation has been tried and failed or is not feasible, deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person, and the force is proportionate to that threat.
Was the Lakeville shooting recorded on body camera?
Yes, according to WCVB, which reported that District Attorney Cruz confirmed the officers wore body cameras that recorded the entire incident. The footage has not been released.
Can a family take guns away from a relative in crisis in Massachusetts?
A family or household member can petition a court for an extreme risk protection order under G.L. c. 140, sections 131R to 131Y. A court can issue an emergency order without notice if it finds reasonable cause to believe the person poses a risk of bodily injury to self or others. In an emergency, call 911.
Sources: Account of the shooting from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office as reported by the Fall River Reporter, WCVB, NBC10 Boston and Boston 25 News, September 26 and 27, 2026. Body camera statement as reported by WCVB. Statutory text of G.L. c. 38, sections 4 and 8; G.L. c. 6E, sections 14 and 15; and G.L. c. 140, sections 121, 131R and 131T read at malegislature.gov. The district attorney’s investigation is ongoing and no findings have been released. General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.