The early morning violence closed streets near Ocean Boulevard after July Fourth crowds filled the beach area.
HAMPTON, N.H. — A shooting near Hampton Beach early Sunday disrupted the popular tourist district, leaving two people wounded and a suspected gunman dead after a police encounter, officials said.
The violence unfolded just after July Fourth celebrations in an area known for summer crowds, restaurants and beach traffic. The investigation closed parts of Ocean Boulevard, P Street and Ashworth Avenue for hours as state and local police processed the scene.
Authorities said officers responded around 1:19 a.m. to Ocean Boulevard, where a 23-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman had been shot. Both were taken to a hospital. Police later encountered Tyshawn Cooper, 21, of Taylors, South Carolina, near P Street and Ashworth Avenue.
Officials said Cooper pulled out a handgun during the encounter. Cooper shot himself in the head at about the same time a Hampton police officer fired one shot, according to state investigators. The medical examiner ruled Cooper’s death a suicide, and officials said the officer’s shot did not kill him.
The shooting scene sat a short walk from the beach and near businesses that draw large crowds during summer weekends. Police tape and road closures remained in place into Sunday afternoon as investigators marked evidence and reviewed the area.
One woman who lives nearby told CBS Boston the shooting changed the feel of the area. “It’s a tragedy that it happened up here because we always thought this was happy Hampton,” she said. “And right now, the things that are happening aren’t happy Hampton anymore.”
Officials did not release the names of the two injured people or say what may have led to the shooting. They also did not say whether Cooper had any connection to Hampton Beach or to the victims.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is handling the deadly force review, a standard step after an officer fires a weapon during a fatal encounter. The officer involved is expected to be interviewed this week.
As of Monday, officials had not announced charges against anyone else or a date for the next public update.
Author note: Last updated Monday, July 6, 2026.