North Andover police officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons' trial gets underway; officer who shot her testifies

The criminal trial for Kelsey Fitzsimmons, the North Andover, Massachusetts police officer who was shot last year while being served a restraining order, got underway Monday with opening statements and witness testimony. The officer who shot Fitzsimmons took the stand, as did her former fiancé.

Fitzsimmons, 29, faces one charge of assault with a dangerous weapon in the incident at her home in North Andover last summer.

She has chosen to forego a jury trial and will instead let a single judge decide her fate.

On June 30, 2025, Fitzsimmons was shot by a fellow North Andover police officer as officers entered her home to serve her with a restraining order from her then-fiancé, Justin Aylaian.

Stressed about the officers taking her four-month old son, Fitzsimmons claimed she pulled her service weapon towards herself in a mental health episode. The officers said she pointed her gun at them, so they shot her in self defense.

Officer who shot Kelsey Fitzsimmons takes stand

North Andover police officer Pat Noonan, who shot Fitzsimmons, took the stand late in the day.

He described the moment Fitzsimmons allegedly pointed her service weapon at him and pulled the trigger. There was no round in the chamber, so the gun clicked but didn't fire.

"I screamed her name. I was completely shocked," Noonan said.

Noonan said that Fitzsimmons attempted to get another round in the chamber and started to point the gun at him again.

"I was yelling at her 'Don't do it, don't do it.' After she successfully got a round in the chamber, her right arm started to come up and I shot twice in rapid succession," Noonan testified.

Noonan and another officer put pressure on the gunshot wound to try and stop the bleeding.

"I said 'Just keep breathing, you have a baby to live for,'" Noonan said.

Court ended for the day with Noonan still on the stand for direct questioning. He is expected to be back Tuesday for cross-examination.

Justin Aylaian testifies

Aylaian took the stand earlier Monday afternoon. He said that the day before Fitzsimmons was shot, he went to the home to pick up nine guns he kept in a safe there.

"I feared for my son and felt his life was in danger and at great risk," he said, prompting an objection from defense attorney Timothy Bradl that was sustained by the judge.

On the day of the shooting after the police department received a restraining order Aylaian had filed against Fitzsimmons, an officer contacted him and come to the home and take custody of the baby.

Aylaian said he was allowed to go into the basement to gather some clothes when he heard gunshots. Video of Aylaian running out of the home was shown earlier in the day.

"I heard an officer scream out 'Stop, don't do it.' I heard what I believe were several gunshots ring out and I heard Kelsey's mother screaming," Aylaian said.

Bradl's brief cross-examination highlighted that Aylaian is currently on administrative leave from his job as a North Andover firefighter. He was placed on leave after defense attorneys filed videos that appeared to show him smoking in the couple's backyard.

"The reason you were placed on suspension or administrative leave or whatever you call it is that you have been caught on video many, many times using drugs that are in violation of your department and your town policy," Bradl asked. Aylaian confirmed that the town was looking into that issue.

"I feared he was not coming out of that house"

Courtney Aylaian, Justin's sister, took the stand Monday after the lunch break.

She was at the house with her brother when Fitzsimmons was shot. She had taken the couple's son and was standing outside holding the baby when she heard gunfire.

"I was scanning the house just praying for Justin to come out. I feared he was not coming out of that house," Courtney testified.

Courtney said that upon hearing the shots, she ran through a nearby school parking lot, into a neighborhood and hid behind trees. Her brother later picked her up.

During a brief cross-examination, Bradl noted that Courtney Aylaian walked into the house and was not let in. Courtney Aylaian responded that an officer standing at a door that led from the porch into the home let her in.

First witness called in Kelsey Fitzsimmons trial

The first witness to take the stand was North Andover Police Lt. Sean Daley, who was at the North Andover Police Department when Aylaian came in with a restraining order.

He brought fellow North Andover officers Pat Noonan and Timothy Houston with him to serve the restraining order at Fitzsimmons' home. Noonan is the officer who would later shoot Fitzsimmons in the chest.

Daley said that he was not in the room when the shot was fired. He testified that he heard Noonan saying "Don't do it, Kelsey." He started running up the stairs and said he heard gunshots, then saw Fitzsimmons on the ground with a gunshot wound and a gun near her leg. One of the shots had missed and the other struck her.

"She kept saying, 'I'm sorry. I want to die,'" Daley testified.

Home surveillance video clips were played with Daley on the stand.

In the videos, Aylaian can be seen walking into the basement and picking up a suitcase.

When he hears the shots fired upstairs, Aylaian runs out of the house through a door in the basement.

First responders can be seen coming into the home with first aid equipment. Fitzsimmons is then seen being carried out of the home.

Defense argues mental health crisis

Earlier in his opening statement, Bradl argued that Fitzsimmons never planned to harm any of her fellow police officers.

"'Kelsey, no. Kelsey, no.' You don't say that when you're staring at the muzzle of a gun pointed at you. You say that to a person who has a gun to their head. And you don't shoot someone in the chest when they are seeking clearly to only harm themselves," Bradl said.

Bradl said that North Andover police officer Pat Noonan, who shot Fitzsimmons, tried to "adjust the narrative" after the fact in order to protect himself.

The defense attorney said that Fitzsimmons' state of mind that day all centered around her life being in chaos because she believed she was set to lose her child, home, and career. Bradl said Fitzsimmons attempted to get the officers to leave the room so she could end her life without them present.

"She made a decision for herself and it's a decision that takes your breath away," Bradl said. "She decides to end her life with her firearm in her bedroom. She knows her firearm is in her bedroom, and she tells police something else. She tells them the guns are in the basement, because she doesn't want to involve them. The idea of harming them, the evidence will show, is ludicrous. She's trying to get them away from her."

"Kelsey, don't do it"

During his opening statement, prosecutor James Gubitose described Noonan as an experienced law enforcement officer who was on the SWAT team.

Gubitose said there are two reasons that Noonan is alive today. The first, he said, is that there was not a round in the chamber of Fitzsimmons' gun, and the second is that Noonan acted in a calm and professional way.

The prosecutor said that when asked about where her guns were located, Fitzsimmons lied and said they were in the basement. Noonan was watching Fitzsimmons as she collected items from the bedroom.

"He notices at some point that her demeanor changes and she gets upset. At that point she lunges to her right," Gubitose said, alleging that Fitzsimmons picked up her service weapon.

Fitzsimmons allegedly pulled the trigger and it clicked, but did not fire.

"Kelsey, don't do it," Noonan said, according to Gubitose.

The prosecutor said that Fitzsimmons tried to rerack the gun, raising it again. That's when Noonan fired twice. One shot missed, while the second bullet struck her in the chest.

"The only credible evidence in this case will be that Kelsey Fitzsimmons raised the gun and pointed it at Officer Noonan. She pulled the trigger when she did this," Gubitose said. "The credible evidence in this case, your honor, will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty."

Defense seeks police interviews

Fitzsimmons spent weeks in the hospital with a collapsed lung and was later charged with assault.

Before opening statements, Bradl asked the judge to order the prosecution to provide statements made by North Andover police officers as part of an internal investigation. Bradl said the department said they do not have the statements because a third party conducted the interviews.

"Why are you waiting until 9 o'clock on the morning of trial to raise this?" Judge Jeffrey Karp asked Bradl, saying that the case has been the subject of many hearings and, "not a peep from you."

"Because I thought we were going to get it," Bradl responded.

The judge suggested the defense issue a subpoena to get the interviews.

Kelsey Fitzsimmons bench trial

Earlier this month a judge ruled that Fitzsimmons could move into an apartment on her own and begin the process of seeking custody of her now 1-year-old son.

Her trial started Monday in Lawrence Superior Court. Judge Karp said that in a perfect world, he would like the trial completed and a verdict issued this week.

"Procedurally, bench trials go faster," said WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman. "The other strategy consideration here is that she and her defense team clearly think that a judge will be more understanding, perhaps even sympathetic to the theories of the case that they are putting forward, as opposed to a jury who may not be as understanding or sympathetic."

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, please call the crisis lifeline at 988 or the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line at (833) 773-2445.