Cop on trial denies gunning for fellow officer in clash at home as prosecutors argue lethal risk was real
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A former Massachusetts police officer on trial for attempting to kill her fellow brother in blue took the stand to testify that she never intended to hurt her colleague.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a North Andover police officer at the time, vehemently denied attempting to kill her fellow officer. She said on the stand that she was attempting to kill herself when officers arrived to serve a restraining order obtained by her fiancé, Justin Aylaian.
Fitzsimmons' defense attorney, Timothy Bradl, asked if she "moved the muzzle of that gun towards [Officer Patrick] Noonan."
"No, never," Fitzsimmons testified.
Fitzsimmons was shot by a fellow officer after she allegedly pointed a gun at him and attempted to fire it on June 25, 2025. The 28-year-old was arrested and arraigned on one count of armed assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.
She was indicted in Essex Superior Court later that month, and the charges were presented to a grand jury. The grand jury chose to charge her with just one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. Fitzsimmons is now facing a bench trial.
Prosecutors allege that she tried to shoot Patrick Noonan as he was serving her a restraining order from her fiancé. Fitzsimmons disputes this version of events, maintaining that she was pointing the gun at herself in a suicide attempt and didn't want to reach out to the community of officers at her station.
"I didn't want to involve anybody. I wanted to take my own life," she said. "I never pointed the gun at a fellow police officer. It never happened."
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While testifying Wednesday, Fitzsimmons recounted the moment that she was shot.
"I went into like a huge adrenaline shock. It didn't feel like normal pain, it almost felt like absent pain, but it felt like my entire body was burning, and I was completely alert, completely awake the whole time," Fitzsimmons said.
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"I was speaking as much as I could. My lung was punctured, so that's why I was having trouble breathing, but other than that, I was very alert and aware of my surroundings."
Later, the former officer shared that as the fire department and additional resources arrived at her home and took her to the hospital that she repeatedly said that she "wanted to die."
"They brought me outside, and I think when I was still in my house one of the firefighters was trying to put oxygen on my face, and I was taking it off and just saying, 'I want to die, I want to die, I want to die.'"
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Fitzsimmons has pleaded not guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the June 2025 incident.
Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday.