By JEFFREY HASTINGS
MANCHESTER, NH – Family and friends gathered on South Mammoth Road in Manchester for a vigil Saturday at the site where police fatally shot Nickenley (Nick) Turenne, 24, of Manchester a week ago.
A cross was placed at the location where police officers performed CPR on the man before he was transported to the Elliot Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Nick’s Father spoke about how he was notified over the phone while he was at work by Saugas Police that his son had died in an incident in Manchester.
The victim had been in a car parked near Green Acres School when police pulled up to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle.
The vehicle fled from police and exited the parking lot, crossing South Mammoth Road where he crashed into a fence behind a house. According to the NH Attorney General’s Office he attempted to flee on foot, a confrontation with police occurred and he was shot several times.
A woman in the car with him was placed on the ground and held at gunpoint while police secured the scene and provided medical aid to the victim. A neighbor at the vigil said that the woman was held on the ground for almost an hour after the incident.
The victim’s father said that Nick was living in an apartment in Manchester, and had been working at Fed-Ex before he died. He was raised in Melrose, MA and had relocated to Manchester where he was bettering his life.
Neighbors pointed out bullet holes in two different buildings near where the shooting happened. According to the AG’s Office three officers fired their weapons. They did not specify the number of rounds. Neighbors told us they heard “several rounds that just kept going.” One neighbor came out of his residence to find police performing CPR on the man.
The mother, siblings and grandmother of the victim were all at the vigil as well as more than a dozen people. At one point family members held up the grandmother after she collapsed at the cross placed in the snow.
The woman who had been in the car with the victim, and the lawyer for the family said that the man was unarmed and no weapon was recovered at the scene. The AG’s Office has not issued any statements about a weapon, calling it a confrontation with police.
Attorney David M. Hass who spoke on behalf of the family, expressed frustration about the lack of information from the investigators. Citing that he would like to be able to view the body camera footage, and have access to the autopsy paperwork. He said at this point he has not been provided any information about the shooting.
The family said that there is GoFundMe set up to assist with burial expenses for Nick. https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-for-nickenley-turennes-family
Nick’s Father said that they are expected to hold a larger vigil at the shooting site next Saturday at about 11 a.m.
The names of the officers involved in the shooting have not been released pending interviews with investigators. Officers at the scene were wearing body camera’s which will become part of the investigation.