Officials said the woman drove an SUV into the hotel while looking for two people she knew.
STURBRIDGE, MA — A pregnant woman crashed an SUV into a Sturbridge hotel early Thursday and fired shots into the building, critically injuring a guest before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
The shooting at the Sturbridge Plaza Hotel drew police from several agencies to 400 Haynes St. just before 1 a.m. Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said investigators believe the 28-year-old suspect went to the hotel to find two people known to her. Officials said the wounded man was not one of them.
Sturbridge police, Southbridge police and Massachusetts State Police troopers from the Sturbridge barracks responded after reports that a vehicle had been driven into the hotel. More calls soon followed about shots fired into the building. Early said the first reports came at about 12:55 a.m. Officers found a hotel guest suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The man was first taken to Harrington Hospital and later flown to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Officials said Thursday afternoon that he remained in critical condition.
The suspect’s name was not released. Early said state domestic violence laws limited what officials could say about parts of the case. He said preliminary information showed the woman went to the hotel seeking two people she knew, but those two people were not hurt. The victim was described as a guest who was struck while in or near the lobby area. Officials said no one was inside the hotel room where the SUV crashed. Investigators did not release the relationship between the suspect and the people she was seeking.
Two officers and a state trooper made contact with the woman inside the hotel and tried to talk with her, Early said. “It all moved very quickly,” he said at a news conference. Police gave commands for her to put down the gun before she fired the weapon again, authorities said. Early said officers did not fire their weapons. Emergency medical workers used extensive lifesaving measures, including a LUCAS chest compression device, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials said investigators learned after the shooting that the woman was about eight months pregnant. They did not release further medical details about the pregnancy. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is part of the investigation, along with Sturbridge police, state police detectives assigned to Early’s office, State Police Crime Scene Services, the State Police Crash and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Firearms Identification Section. Authorities said the investigation was in its early stages and would continue in the coming days.
Hotel guest Stuart Mackelvie, who had traveled from Scotland for a World Cup match, told reporters he woke to a car alarm and gunfire. He said he saw a woman outside after an SUV hit the building. “Where are you? Where are you?” he recalled hearing her shout. Mackelvie said he then heard more shots and breaking glass. He said the scene seemed targeted, not random, but still left guests frightened as police moved through the hotel and checked rooms.
Sturbridge Police Chief Earl Dessert said earlier Thursday that there was no continuing threat to the public. Video from the scene showed a black SUV lodged near the side of the hotel, with yellow police tape around part of the property hours after the shooting. Guests and workers remained near a large police presence as investigators examined the crash damage and searched the area for evidence.
The case remains under investigation, and officials have not said when more names or findings may be released. As of Thursday afternoon, the injured hotel guest was in critical condition, and authorities said the two people the suspect had sought were not injured.
Author note: Last updated June 19, 2026.