Massachusetts cops recover shotgun taken from stolen cruiser

CHELMSFORD, Mass. – A Massachusetts police department has recovered a shotgun taken from a stolen police vehicle.

Chelmsford Chief James Spinney said Friday that the missing shotgun was located in Lowell, but didn’t elaborate. He said the investigation is ongoing.

Spinney also apologized for an earlier remark about the search in which he mentioned the city of Lawrence. The chief said he did not mean to disparage the city, which is nearly 75 per cent Latino and has a reputation for high drug and crime rates.

“I was only trying to comment that the missing firearm may be miles away from Chelmsford for all we knew,” said Spinney, who added that he called Lawrence officials to convey his apologies.

The loaded, department-issued shotgun was taken from an unmarked police cruiser stolen from the garage at the home of a department detective either late Wednesday or early Thursday. A civilian vehicle was also stolen. Both vehicles were later recovered.