Berkshire DA Releases Victim's Name in Fatal Police Shooting

An image Biagio Kauvil posted to his Instagram page in happier days. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Biagio Kauvil's family had attempted to secure mental health resources for him before a well-being check on Wednesday that turned deadly. 

On Friday, District Attorney Timothy Shugrue identified Kauvil, 27, as the man who was killed by police in a shooting incident at 53 Off South St. on Jan. 7. The New York resident, he said, was expressing "paranoid delusional" thoughts on social media, and in calls to the FBI's National Threat Operation Center and local 911 leading up to the incident. 

"This is a horrific scene, and there is a deceased person, and it's a very sad situation. It was a mental health situation," Shugrue said during a press conference at his office around noon, right after he had spoken to Kauvil's family. 

The DA elaborated on details provided the prior day, though there are still many questions unanswered, and the investigation remains active. He declined to respond to queries about the officers' decision to breach the bedroom door the man was sequestered behind, details about the approximately 46-second struggle that resulted in Kauvil being shot in the head, or if an officer would be charged for the fatality. 

Police say Hinsdale Sgt. Dominick Crupi was shot in the hand by Kauvil, the bullet going through and striking Police Chief Shawn Boyne in his bulletproof vest. Crupi was also shot in the elbow by another officer. He was released from Albany, N.Y., Medical Center on Friday. 

Shugrue said his office will not be releasing the names of the officers involved, although he acknowledged that they have been named on social media and elsewhere. He is "not even near" ready to say if an officer will be charged. 

"I'm only here today because there's a lot of rumors going around the community. I wanted to straighten that out," he said, clarifying that Kauvil was not wanted by the FBI. 

"… I'm sorry I can't give you more information than that, but I really want to be clear about what we know at this stage. But again, this may change once we — I haven't seen the ballistics, I haven't seen the autopsy report. There's a lot of stuff I don't have yet, but I just felt the public deserved to know as quickly as possible what transpired, especially in light of what's happening nationally." 

This is the third police shooting in Berkshire County in nearly four years that involved someone in mental distress. Miguel Estrella, 22, was shot and killed on March 25, 2022, at the intersection of Woodbine Avenue and Onota Street in Pittsfield; Phillip Henault, 64, was shot and killed at his Hancock home on Sept. 9, 2023.

Based on the investigation so far, there were no mental health co-responders on site. Shugrue doesn't believe the officers knew Kauvil was armed, and cited the lack of mental health resources in the community. 

"I hope one thing that comes out of this is that we can talk more about legislative work that needs to be done. We can talk about resources that need to be given to mandate that we have mental health professionals working with police officers and working with individuals that are on the street that haven't been able to get the services that they need," he said. 

"And this is unfortunate. I know, speaking to the family, they tried to get services for him. Unfortunately, there's not a lot available, and there's not a lot available in the Berkshires."