A former Massachusetts mayor who was once accused of flashing a gun at a rival has been stabbed in the neck outside a cannabis dispensary he owns, according to police.
Will Flanagan, 45, who served as the Democratic mayor of Fall River between January 2010 and December 2014, was in serious but stable condition after being stabbed twice in the neck around 5 p.m. Monday, the Herald News reported.
The colorful father of two — who recently appeared in a horror movie — was attacked outside his Cosmopolitan Dispensary soon after posting on social media that he would be there.
The former mayor “sustained significant injuries,” the City of Fall River Police Department said, without elaborating on a suspected motive for the attack.
“Our patrol officers and detectives responded swiftly and are working diligently to identify and apprehend who is responsible for this senseless act of violence,” Police Chief Kelly Furtado said.
The former assistant district attorney became Fall River’s youngest mayor in November 2009, when he was just 29.
But he was recalled by voters in 2014 after allegedly showing a gun to a political rival — future Mayor Jasiel Correia — who took it as an attempt to intimidate him, the Herald News reported.
Flanagan denied the accusation, and he and Correia traded civil lawsuits, which were settled in a confidential agreement in 2015.
Correia went on to beat Flanagan’s record and become Fall River’s youngest mayor at just 23 when he was elected in January 2016.
Flanagan returned to practicing law, while also performing in local films, including a recent horror movie, the report said.
He maintained a colorful social media presence, promoting his cannabis dispensary, which he launched in July 2022.
On Monday, he posted a video of himself singing “Blame It on the Rain” by Milli Vanilli on Facebook during a storm outside Cosmopolitan Dispensary, encouraging customers to come.
Current Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said his “thoughts and prayers” are with his predecessor and his family and friends.
“The full support of the Mayor’s Office is with the Fall River Police Department as they work tirelessly to bring justice in this case,” he said.
Neither Flanagan’s office nor the Cosmopolitan Dispensary responded immediately to requests for comment.
