Gilford police shooting of teen suffering with mental health issues highlights complex problem

Police officers responding to a distress call in Gilford on New Year’s Day were on scene for approximately two minutes before shooting and killing a teenager inside his home who was allegedly armed with a knife.

Mischa Fay, 17, was killed by a single gunshot fired by an officer, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says it is in the midst of a criminal investigation into Fay’s death and has released little publicly about the events that lead to it. But according to a police report from the evening, Fay’s mother called 911 at 9:52 p.m. asking for assistance with her son who “has a knife and is in a rage.”

At the time of the call, Merrill Fay, Mischa’s father, was locked in his office inside the house, according to the police report.

Two Gilford police officers arrived at the home on Varney Point Road at 9:56 p.m. Within two minutes, one officer had fired a Taser, while another officer fired his gun. It’s not clear from the police report how much time passed between the Taser being fired and the fatal gunshot. The officers attempted CPR before Fay was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Records provided to NHPR show that police had been called to the address on previous occasions due to mental health concerns for Fay and claims of aggressive physical outbursts by him.

According to reporting from NHPR and The Concord Monitor, a large portion of people killed by police in recent years in

New Hampshire had a mental illness.

Merrill Fay owned Fay’s Boat Yard on Lake Winnipesaukee, a business the Fay family started in 1942. It is now operated by one of Merrill’s older sons. Merrill is also the namesake of the Merrill Fay Arena, an ice rink in Laconia, operated by another of his sons.

According to an obituary published in the Laconia Daily Sun, Mischa Fay was an avid hockey player and Bruins fan. He also loved boating on Lake Winnipesaukee. He also enjoyed Star Wars. His family noted Mischa was in “declining health” for two years.

— BY TODD BOOKMAN, SARAH GIBSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO