Late NH police captain shot at station by sniper receives Purple Heart

On November 15, 2024By Pranco

Xiggoro’s son, Gregory, accepted a Police Purple Heart on his behalf Wednesday, as Manchester Police honored several officers past and present for their service.

“The hardest part was also knowing the sniper, a family friend who didn’t know he was shooting my father,” Gregory Xiggoros said. ‘He actually came to the police station to talk to my father. My father was unavailable and the police chased him away. He allegedly went back to his apartment, took drugs and started shooting from his aunt’s apartment.”

Gregory Xiggoros, who grew up in Manchester and now splits his time between Florida, New York and Hampton, was in college at the time of the shooting and woke up to the news of his father’s serious injuries.

“My father wasn’t supposed to work that night,” he said. “His office was bulletproof, but there was no one at the reception when a panicked woman entered. My father left his office and that is why the bullet was able to penetrate the police station and hit both him and the woman.

‘It was a matter of circumstances. I mean, who would have thought?’ he asked.

Gregory Xiggoros said the shooting was traumatic for his family, but the community’s response has stuck with him.

“I remember the wake. We stood in line from eight in the morning to eight at night without a break. The police had to cordon off blocks and blocks around the funeral home because of the turnout,” he said. “Even today, when I come back to Manchester, I always come across someone who has a story about my father.”

After an investigation and manhunt, the sniper, Thomas H. Theodosopoulos, 22, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder. The other shooting victim, 37-year-old Dorothy Perrault, was recovering from a gunshot wound to her upper arm.

Police said at the time that Theodosopoulos was angry about parking tickets, according to a wire story in The New York Times.

Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said the incident is a reminder of how even “routine days” for police officers can be dangerous.

“It’s another example of the fact that you never know what your day is going to look like,” he said.

More recognition

During the ceremony, Aldenberg also awarded the MPD’s Life Saving Medal to Officer Jeffrey Hennessy and Detective Brendan Langton, the Meritorious Unit Citation to Officers Christian Coughlin, Patrick Hare, Jeffrey Hennessy and Photios Vougias, and the Chief’s Achievement Medal to Detective Raymond Lamy.

He said they are all examples of the dedicated men and women who protect and serve Manchester.

‘I say it all the time. Listen, we’re not a perfect police officer, but man, we have a lot of good people working here,” Aldenberg said. “In a heartbeat, they will put themselves in harm’s way to protect others.”

Three new Manchester officers were also sworn in to the department on Wednesday: Brandon Baliko, Kalei Chase and Andrew Hubbard.

___

Visit The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, NH) at www.unionleader.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.