NEW SALEM — The New Hampshire teen who was shot after allegedly stabbing a state trooper on Friday afternoon remains hospitalized at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, the Northwestern District Attorney’s office said Sunday.
The 47-year-old state trooper remains hospitalized as well, “but is in stable condition and good spirits,” spokeswoman Mary Carey said in a statement.
The suspect, Nghia Le of Manchester, New Hampshire, has been charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and is being held on $1 million bail, pending his arraignment, which Carey said will be “sometime early this week.”
The time and location of the arraignment are yet to be determined.
The unnamed trooper, a roughly 12-year police veteran who is a husband and father, was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center and was conscious and alert before being wheeled into surgery, according to First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne and State Police spokesman David Procopio.
Le was shot in the torso and taken separately by LifeFlight to the same hospital for emergency medical treatment.
“The shot was in response to the trooper being attacked,” Gagne said, adding that it is unclear who fired the shot.
According to State Police, preliminary investigation determined the suspect was involved in a motor vehicle crash around noon in Walpole, New Hampshire. He allegedly stole the silver Toyota Camry driven by the other driver involved in the crash and fled into Vermont and then down Interstate 91 into Massachusetts.
State and local police spotted the vehicle and pursued it. The chase reportedly went through Erving and Orange, ending in New Salem at the intersection of Route 202 and Fay Road between 2 and 3 p.m., when the Toyota Camry the suspect was driving became disabled and stopped after it struck an object, causing significant damage to the driver’s side. Gagne said it appears the suspect then exited the vehicle and used a knife to attack the trooper.
Procopio expressed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the Erving and Orange police departments.
Gagne said crime scene chemists and ballistics analysts were on scene for the investigation. State Police were directing traffic down Fay Road on Friday afternoon.