An argument over spray-painting on a Shrewsbury bridge led to a father being fatally shot after dropping his 6-year-old son off at school, authorities said Thursday.

The suspected gunman was arrested after a search that forced the school into lockdown. “I think it’s a senseless tragedy,” Kevin Anderson, Shrewsbury’s police chief, said during an afternoon briefing with reporters.

Shrewsbury Public Schools said the victim is the father of a student at Coolidge Elementary School.

“We are heartbroken for our student and the family, and we will do everything we can to support them,” Tiffany Ostrander, the principal at Coolidge, said in a message to families. “We are not able to share their identity at this time, and we ask that you respect their confidentiality. I know you will want to hel

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