Crime & Safety

Afghan Veteran Killed in Stoneham Shooting

An Afghan veteran was killed during an early Wednesday morning shooting at a Stoneham home.

An Afghan veteran was killed during an early Wednesday morning shooting at a Stoneham home, the vet's godfather told the Boston Herald.

WHDH-TV reported that the man killed in the shooting, which left another person injured, as 26-year-old Joseph Puopolo. Puopolo served four years in the Army, the WHDH-TV report added.

The shooting occurred around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday at 6 Micah's Pond Way.

"The entire family is devastated. It's going to be a mess," Joseph Alessandro, who identified himself as the dead man's godfather, told the Herald. "I don't believe it. His birthday was last week. He just came home from Afghanistan and now this had to happen. Twenty-six years old."

"It does not appear to be random,” MaryBeth Long, spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, told the newspaper.

Alessandro told the Herald that his godson was honored for saving the life of another soldier who lost a toe after stepping on a land mine.

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"(He) picked up the toe and sewed it back on," he told the newspaper. "He saved the guy's life. He was Special Forces, on the front line. Strong."

To read the complete Herald repot, click here.

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