A The Massachusetts State Police recruit has died after suffering a “medical crisis during a tactical training exercise,” authorities confirmed Friday evening.
Enrique Delgado-Garcia, 25, was unresponsive Thursday during training at the police academy in New Braintree, about 80 miles northeast of Boston, department spokesman Tim McGuirk said.
The academy’s on-site medical team quickly examined Delgado-Garcia and determined he needed emergency medical attention. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.
The young recruit was injured during a boxing exercise, according to local media. Sources told CBS Boston that Delgado-Garcia was knocked out for several minutes after being hit in the head.
Family members are now demanding answers.
“They killed my cousin, and now they’re running like cowards,” Omel Canario García told NBC Boston on Friday, saying he doesn’t believe what he’s being told about his cousin’s injuries.
“The doctor says my son looks like he was in a car accident going 100 miles per hour because of how hard that boy hit my son,” the victim’s mother, Sandra Garcia, said in Spanish.
“Missing teeth? Brain damage? It didn’t come from boxing, especially a two-minute round,” Canario García added.
A spokesman for the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that an “active and ongoing” review had been underway since they were notified of the incident Thursday.
In a statement Saturday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said she was “the heart” by the death of the “beloved member” of the graduating class, who was “known for his compassion and devotion to service.”
No information has been provided about who else may have been involved in the incident. State police said earlier Friday that more information will be released as it becomes available.
With News Wire Services