State police investigating whether fatal drive-by shooting was self-defense

Sept. 18 — A Littleton man was shot and killed in what is being investigated as a possible road rage incident Monday night, according to the attorney general’s office.

On Monday at 11:10 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call for help from an adult driver who said he was being chased.

The man said his car was hit multiple times and he was driving through the streets trying to get away from “the attacking car,” the attorney general’s office said in a news release.

Police responded and within minutes of the call beginning, “gunshots were heard,” authorities said. Police located the two cars stopped after an apparent crash near 33 Pleasant St.

Police reported finding the caller waiting for police, along with a second man, identified as Eric Rexford, 38, of Littleton, suffering from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds.

The man who called told police it was Rexford who was chasing and hitting his car, authorities said. Rexford was taken to a local hospital where he later died.

An autopsy performed Tuesday by associate medical examiner Dr. Abigail Alexander determined that Rexford’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

“Investigators continue to investigate the sequence of events from Mr. Rexford’s pursuit of a vehicle in Littleton to the shooting, but there is no indication that there is a specific threat to the general public at this point,” the attorney general’s office said in the statement. “Part of this investigation is to determine whether the person who shot Mr. Rexford acted in self-defense.”

Investigators are asking for the public’s help. Littleton residents who saw or heard a car crash on Union or Cottage streets Monday night, or anyone else with information about the incident, are asked to contact the State Police Major Crimes Unit at 603-223-3856, or by email at [email protected].

Individuals can also call State Police Headquarters Communications at 603-223-4381.

[email protected]