Today's Top Headlines

Thursday, March 19

Good morning Wypierdalaj,

We continue to follow the latest on the Kelsey Fitzsimmons case, including a contentious text exchange between her and her ex-fiancé that was unsealed yesterday. Other top news this morning includes a man fatally shot by police at a Weymouth park, the Croft School in financial turmoil, and a transformation for Capron Park Zoo. I'm Kaitlin McKinley Becker, and these are your headlines.

A contentious text message exchange between former North Andover police officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons and her ex-fiancé Justin Aylaian that has been submitted as evidence in Fitzsimmons’ upcoming assault trial was unsealed Wednesday.

The prosecution intends to bring up the text exchange during the trial to show Fitzsimmons’ motive and state of mind on June 30, 2025, the day at the center of the case.

On that day, Fitzsimmons was shot by fellow officers at her home. She has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon in relation to that confrontation, which occurred as police were serving her with a restraining order and informing her that Aylaian, who claimed she had assaulted him and threatened the life of their son, was obtaining court-ordered custody of the child. Law enforcement alleges that she pointed a gun at them during the confrontation. Her defense, though, claims that she pointed the gun at her own head.

An investigation is underway in Weymouth, Massachusetts, after police shot and killed a man at a local park there Wednesday.

Weymouth officers responded around 4 p.m. to Webb Memorial State Park off River Street after receiving a 911 call for service, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office. Once on scene, police encountered a knife-wielding man, who appeared to be in distress.

Details about what happened next haven’t been released, but officials say the officer immediately administered first aid to the victim before he was taken by ambulance to South Shore Hospital in critical condition. He died from his injuries. His name has not been released.

As TSA staffing is stretching thin and security lines are growing longer at airports nationwide, Boston’s Logan International Airport is testing new technology aimed at giving travelers a clearer picture of what they’ll face at the checkpoint.

Massport has begun piloting a real time wait time measurement system in Terminal B. The system uses cameras to detect shapes and estimate how long passengers will spend in line, according to a spokesperson. If testing goes well, those wait times will eventually appear on airport flight information screens, Logan’s website, and the FlyLogan app.

For many travelers, the upgrade can’t come soon enough.

A private school with locations in Boston and Providence is scrambling to stay open.

The Croft School’s board of managers outlined its financial turmoil in a letter to the school community.

Scott Given, the school’s founding executive director, admitted on March 6 to fabricating a letter of credit and keeping two sets of books, overstating the school’s revenue while understating its expenses, the board said.

As Colin Dorgan stood before a deafening crowd exploding in pride for his high school hockey team’s championship win, secured by a goal in an exhausting yet exhilarating quadruple overtime, three seats were noticeably empty in the Rhode Island arena.

The high school senior’s mother, brother and grandfather should have been there to celebrate one of the most exciting moments in his hockey career, but that opportunity was robbed when all three were killed in a shooting that erupted while Dorgan was playing a game with his Blackstone Valley Co-op teammates.

The shooting rattled a close-knit hockey community, with many wondering whether and how the high school hockey season could continue. Yet in the weeks since, Dorgan not only repeatedly laced up his skates as team captain but performed so well that he helped propel his team to the Division 2 boys’ state championship, where they won Wednesday 3-2.

City leaders plan to transform a zoo in Attleborough, Massachusetts, into a nature reserve and wildlife rehab center.

Mayor Cathleen Desimone made a proposal to city councilors Tuesday to make changes at Capron Park Zoo.

She emphasized that the zoo is not closing and will operate as normal until the first week of September.