Authorities said officers answering a 911 call found a 25-year-old Weymouth man with a knife at Webb Memorial State Park.
WEYMOUTH, Mass. — Weymouth police responding to a 911 call at Webb Memorial State Park on Wednesday afternoon shot a man who authorities said was holding a knife and appeared to be in distress, setting off a state investigation into the fatal encounter.
Norfolk County prosecutors said the shooting happened around 4 p.m. at the park on River Street, a popular waterfront area used by runners, dog walkers and families. The man, later identified as Sean R. Barry, 25, of Weymouth, was taken to South Shore Hospital in critical condition and died there. The case now moves into the standard review that follows an officer-involved shooting in Massachusetts, with State Police assigned to the Norfolk district attorney examining what happened and whether the officer’s use of force was justified.
Authorities said officers were sent to the park after a 911 call for service and found Barry armed with a knife. The district attorney’s office said he appeared to be in distress when police arrived. Officials have not publicly said how many officers were on scene, how many shots were fired or what led the officer to open fire. They have also not released the identity of the officer. What officials have said is that an officer gave first aid immediately after the shooting before Barry was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
The first public accounts of the chaos came from people nearby who said the response unfolded quickly in a place better known for quiet shoreline views than emergency sirens. Sami Davis, who said she was in her car at the time, told local television that police moved in fast and that she then heard two gunshots. She said it was clear from the pace of the response that something serious was happening. Another nearby resident described a rush of cruisers and ambulances entering the area, turning an ordinary late afternoon into an active crime scene. By evening, police tape and investigators had closed off parts of the park as troopers and local officers worked around the scene.
Even with the basic timeline now public, several central questions remain unanswered. Prosecutors have not said what prompted the original call, whether Barry spoke with officers before the shooting, whether nonlethal options were attempted or how close he was to police when shots were fired. One television report, citing unnamed sources, said Barry was found in a park restroom and lunged at an officer with the knife, but that detail has not been laid out in a formal public statement by prosecutors. Officials also have not said whether any body camera, cruiser camera or park surveillance video exists and, if it does, whether it will be released.
Webb Memorial State Park sits on a peninsula reaching into Hingham Bay and is a regular destination for walkers and runners on the South Shore. That setting shaped the reaction Wednesday night, as neighbors and regular visitors described shock that a fatal police shooting happened in a place they see as calm and out of the way. One woman who frequents the park said the violence would change how she thinks about returning there for a run. Another resident said the park is not an area where people expect this kind of emergency, adding to the unease that spread through the neighborhood after the shooting.
Under Massachusetts practice, fatal police shootings are typically investigated by State Police detectives assigned to the local district attorney, along with crime scene and firearms specialists. In this case, officials said troopers from units assigned to the Norfolk County district attorney responded after Weymouth police reported the shooting. Investigators are expected to document the scene, collect physical evidence, review radio traffic and any available video, and interview officers and witnesses. Prosecutors have not announced any hearing date or said when a fuller public account may be released. No criminal charge has been announced against any officer, and there has been no indication of any ongoing threat to the public.
The death of a young local resident also gave the story a second layer beyond the investigation itself. Davis, one of the witnesses, spoke in emotional terms about the man who died and said the episode left her thinking about how visible personal distress can become in public places. Her remarks stood apart from the police timeline and reflected the grief that can follow a fatal encounter even before official findings are known. For people living nearby, the scene was not only a law enforcement matter but also a community shock that unfolded in real time at a familiar park entrance on a mild March afternoon.
As of Thursday, authorities had publicly identified Barry and confirmed that State Police assigned to the district attorney were leading the investigation. The next milestone is a more detailed accounting from prosecutors or investigators about what happened in the minutes before the officer fired.
Author note: Last updated March 20, 2026.
Featured image prompt: Horizontal 1200×630 news photo illustration of a quiet waterfront state park in Weymouth, Massachusetts, with a paved walking path, bare early-spring trees, police tape near a park entrance, several parked police cruisers and an ambulance in the distance, soft late-afternoon coastal light, no logos, no identifiable faces, realistic local-news style.