July 14, 2026 – Springfield, Massachusetts – Following the investigation into the fatal shooting that occurred on Fairfield Street on July 5, 2026, Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni has announced that no criminal charges will be filed.

The investigation determined that the incident began with a dispute on social media that led to the decedent, Robert Murchison, 35, of Springfield, traveling to the home of a male and female known to him. A physical altercation was initiated by Murchison with the male homeowner on his personal property. Murchison then produced a handgun and pursued the male while pointing the firearm at him. The involved male’s wife, a licensed firearm owner, who witnessed her husband facing imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, discharged a single round, striking the decedent. The homeowners then immediately called the police and fully cooperated with the investigation. 

The investigation included the accounts of the parties involved in the matter, as well as an account of an independent percipient witness, Ring camera footage, 911 recordings, physical evidence recovered at the scene, and text and social media messages exchanged prior to the incident. That evidence clearly establishes that the female party acted in lawful self-defense and defense of another only after the decedent arrived at her and her husband’s home, engaged in a physical altercation on their property with her husband, and ultimately produced a firearm and posed an immediate threat to her husband.

Under Massachusetts law, the use of deadly force is justified when a person reasonably believes such force is necessary to defend themselves or another person from an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. 

After reviewing all available evidence, the District Attorney determined that his office could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the homeowner’s actions were unlawful. Accordingly, no criminal charges will be filed, and the matter is considered closed.