Gilford shooting victim identified as teenager

The victim of a police shooting Sunday night was identified as Mischa Fay, age 17, by the Attorney General's Office following the results of an autopsy conducted Tuesday.

The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest, and the manner of death was determined to be homicide, according to a media release. 

Homicide is defined as “the killing of one person by another.”

Fay is the son of Merrill Fay, owner of Fay’s Boat Yard in Gilford. 

Mischa Fay was killed after Gilford police officers responded to reports of a resident armed with a knife at 5 Varney Point Road Left in Gilford just before 10 p.m. on Jan. 1.

According to the release, one officer fired a taser at Fay, and the second officer fired a gun.

Fay was transported to Concord Hospital—Laconia, where he was pronounced deceased. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave and their identities are being withheld pending “the conclusion of formal interview,” according to the Attorney General's Office.

The state major crimes unit is conducting the investigation, which is currently analyzing body camera footage of the incident. Both officers were allegedly equipped with cameras.

The state’s mobile crime lab was parked outside the residence collecting evidence Monday morning.

The Gilford police log categorized the 9:52 p.m. call as a “mental person,” signifying a mental health emergency. 

Mental health crises are among the most common calls for police departments both nationally and locally. According to a report in The Concord Monitor, over 60% of people shot and killed by New Hampshire police over the past decade had a mental illness.