Authorities said the hourslong manhunt began after reports of gunfire at a family home on Ham Road.
RAYMOND, NH — A man accused of shooting a New Hampshire police officer during a response to a family shooting call was found dead late Saturday after an hourslong manhunt and exchange of gunfire with officers in a wooded area, authorities said.
The shooting shook a small Rockingham County town, sent nearby residents into a shelter-in-place order and left one Nottingham police officer hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators said the suspect, 38-year-old Matthew J. Masse of Raymond, had fired at family members and then at responding officers before running from the scene with a rifle. By Sunday, state and local officials had shifted from an emergency search to parallel investigations into the officer shooting and the later police gunfire that ended the standoff.
Authorities said the violence began around 1:30 p.m. Saturday at a home on Ham Road in Raymond, where police were called on a report that a man was shooting at relatives inside or near the house. Investigators said Masse then opened fire on officers who arrived at the scene, hitting a Nottingham Police Department officer. The officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and officials later said the injuries were serious but not believed to be life-threatening. After the shooting, police said Masse fled on foot carrying a long gun, prompting a large search that drew state troopers, local police and tactical teams into the area. As the search spread into nearby woods, residents close to Ham Road were told to stay inside for their safety. State police identified Masse publicly during the search and warned that he was armed and dangerous.
Police said the search stretched into the night before officers located Masse in a wooded area at about 10 p.m., roughly eight and a half hours after the first emergency calls. Officials said officers tried to take him into custody, but gunfire broke out again. After that exchange, Masse was found dead. Authorities have not publicly said how many officers fired, what commands were given before the shooting or whether Masse fired first during the final confrontation. They also have not released details about the family members who were allegedly targeted earlier in the day, including whether anyone else was physically hurt in the initial gunfire. Those gaps are important because they will shape both the criminal case investigators were building against Masse and the separate review that now follows any fatal police shooting. For now, officials have described the episode as beginning with domestic violence-related gunfire and ending in an officer-involved shooting after a sustained manhunt.
The case also raised questions about what police already knew before Saturday’s violence. Raymond Police Chief Michael Labell said officers were aware of Masse from an incident two days earlier and that active felony warrants had been issued before the Ham Road shooting. Authorities have not yet detailed those warrants or said exactly why Masse had not been located before Saturday afternoon. Officials likewise have not publicly described the layout inside the house, the number of family members present when shots were fired or how many rounds were discharged during the first encounter with police. Neighbors told local television outlets they saw a heavy police response build through the afternoon as officers sealed off roads and searched around homes and tree lines. In a town like Raymond, where wooded residential roads can quickly complicate a manhunt, the terrain became a major part of the story. The shelter-in-place order underscored the fear that an armed man who knew the area could remain hidden for hours close to homes.
By Sunday, the legal path had changed because the suspect was dead, but the procedural steps ahead remained substantial. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said an autopsy was scheduled early this week to determine Masse’s cause and manner of death. The office is also leading the investigation into the police gunfire, a routine step in New Hampshire when officers are involved in a fatal shooting. Investigators are expected to review body-worn camera footage if any exists, scene evidence, dispatch records, ballistics findings and statements from officers and witnesses. The shooting of the Nottingham officer will remain part of that broader fact-finding effort even though no prosecution against Masse can now move forward. Authorities have not announced a date for a full public briefing, nor have they named the wounded officer. A fuller timeline, including the earlier warrants and the exact sequence of the final gunfight, is likely to come through future statements from the attorney general and state police once interviews and forensic testing are complete.
Through the day and into Sunday, the scene carried the strain common to small communities hit by sudden violence: blocked roads, police cruisers posted at the edge of quiet residential streets and neighbors waiting for word that the danger had passed. State police eventually announced that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted after Masse was found dead. That update brought relief, but it did not answer the harder questions still hanging over the case, including how the family shooting unfolded and what led to the final exchange in the woods. Officials have so far kept their public comments tight and factual, saying only that officers made contact, tried to take Masse into custody and ended up in a gun battle. For the officer who was wounded, the immediate story now turns to recovery. For investigators, it turns to evidence. And for Raymond, the next phase is likely to be measured in autopsy findings, forensic reports and a more detailed public account of a violent Saturday that stretched from midafternoon into the night.
The case remained under investigation Sunday, with the suspect dead, the injured officer hospitalized and state authorities expected to release more information after the autopsy and review of the officer-involved shooting. The next major milestone is the attorney general’s fuller account of what happened on Ham Road and in the woods later that night.
Author note: Last updated April 5, 2026.