LAWRENCE, Mass. — The assault trial against Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a 28-year-old former North Andover police officer accused of pulling a gun on a fellow officer, resumes Tuesday in Lawrence District Court.
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Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.
- North Andover Police Officer Patrick Noonan, who shot Fitzsimmons after she allegedly pointed a gun at him, returns to the stand to face questioning from the defense.
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The trial started Monday with opening statements and testimony as the prosecution and defense offered sharply contrasting accounts of what happened inside her home in June 2025.
The incident occurred while Fitzsimmons was being served a restraining order filed by her former fiancé. Prosecutors allege she pulled the trigger of her firearm, but the weapon failed to discharge because there was no round in the chamber. Responding officers subsequently shot Fitzsimmons, who survived the encounter.
Fitzsimmons has pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.
Witnesses describe chaotic moments before gunfire
North Andover Police Lieutenant Sean Daley was the first witness called to the stand. He testified that he heard another officer, Patrick Noonan, shouting commands moments before gunfire broke out.
“I heard officer Noonan call out in like a loud authoritative voice Kelsey, don’t do it, Kelsey, don’t do it, Kelsey,” Daley said.
Officer Noonan ultimately opened fire, striking her once in the chest.
While Daley was not in the room when the shooting occurred, he testified that he later discovered Fitzsimmons on the ground with a firearm nearby.
Daley also testified that he heard Fitzsimmons say, “I’m sorry, I want to die,” as officers provided medical aid.
A member of the prosecution team stated that there are two reasons that Noonan is alive today.
The first reason cited was that Fitzsimmons’ gun had no round in the chamber despite a full magazine. The second was Noonan, “reacting in a calm professional way when he protected both himself and everyone else in that house,” the prosecutor said.
Defense presents a different narrative
The defense team presented a different interpretation of the events, suggesting Fitzsimmons was experiencing a mental health crisis and intended to harm only herself. They argued the shouts heard by witnesses were attempts to prevent a suicide rather than a response to an external threat.
“The evidence here, judge, will show that he was trying to tell her not to kill herself,” a defense attorney said, adding that “the words Kelsey no Kelsey no are uttered” during that time.
Fitzsimmons’ attorneys further claimed that she never pointed her weapon at the other officers. They attributed her actions to a “brain freeze” caused by the fear of losing her child, her home, and her career.
Evidence and testimony highlight first day of trial
“The evidence will show that Kelsey never pointed a gun at him and that this was a mistake, it was a brain freeze, it was a mechanical thing, it was someone seeing a gun and shooting,” the defense stated.
Fitzsimmons’ ex-fiancé, Justin Aylaian, who filed the initial restraining order, also testified as a witness on the first day of the trial.
Aylaian told the court Monday that he “feared for his life and his son’s life,” explaining why he sought the restraining order and ran from the scene.
Video shown in court depicts moments before and after the shooting, when three officers — Lt. Sean Daley, Officer Patrick Noonan, and Officer Timothy Houston — arrived at her home to serve the order.
Surveillance footage also shows Aylaian dropping items in the basement he intended to bring with him before running from the home, while Fitzsimmons’ mother — who was also present — called after him.
Additional video shows officers moving in and out of the home before taking Fitzsimmons outside and rushing her to the hospital.
Judge, not jury, will decide the case
The trial is expected to last until Friday. Fitzsimmons has chosen a bench trial, meaning a judge will decide the verdict rather than a jury.
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