According to Dean Albertson, executive director of the area Civil Liberties Union, Puerto Rican youth were throwing bricks at policemen, and the police were throwing them back. Reyes was allegedly fleeing from a burglary when Sgt. Thomas Rondeau shot Reyes in the head and killed him. It was claimed that Reyes brandished a shiny object. Initial police reports found no weapon at the scene.
Later reports claim that a chisel was found nearby.
Rondeau was previously involved in two other shootings. In 1967 he killed Robert Cary, a subsequent investigation cleared the officer of any wrongdoing. In the other shooting, Rondeau wounded an innocent bystander when he allegedly chased a criminal suspect in the Winchester Square area of Springfield. This is the second shooting incident to cause disturbance in the North End community. In March of this year, Rafael Lecodet was shot by one of two Springfield policemen.