Tragedy off America's oldest seaport claims 7 lives as fishing boat sinks in frigid waters

BOSTON (AP) — The seven victims of a marine disaster that devastated a storied Massachusetts fishing town included a fifth-generation fisherman, a young federal fisheries observer and a father-and-son crew duo. All died when their fishing boat, the Lily Jean, sank in waters off America’s oldest seaport.

The sinking underscored the risks long inherent in Gloucester’s fishing industry, which spans more than 400 years and was famously chronicled in “The Perfect Storm.” The names of the crew will be added to a city memorial honoring thousands of fishermen lost at sea over generations.

The 72-foot (22-meter) vessel was returning to port early Friday to repair fishing gear when it sank in frigid Atlantic waters. The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that it was launching a formal investigation into the sinking after suspending a search for survivors Saturday. It has not said what might have caused the sinking, though it said ice buildup from freezing ocean spray can cause a boat to capsize.

“You fish in federal waters, you fish in a Gloucester boat, and you lose your life, you’re forever a Gloucester fisherman,” Gloucester fisherman Al Cottone said.

Coast Guard officials identified the victims Monday as captain Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo and crewmembers Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Rousanidis, Freeman Short and Sean Therrien. Also aboard was Jada Samitt, a fisheries observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On Monday, the community was quick to push back against speculation about a possible cause, recalling Sanfilippo as someone who cared about his crew and didn't take risks.

Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said such sinkings are unfortunately not out of the ordinary.

“We’ve had multiple sinkings. All hands lost. No radio communication at the very last minute. Nobody alive to say, oh, no, it wasn’t that," he said. "So, it’s just unfair to everyone involved with the folks that were lost feeling like someone did something wrong.”

“All those guys on that boat were seasoned fishermen,” former Lily Jean crew member Gryphon Orfanos said while doing boat repairs Monday at the same dock where the Lily Jean used to tie up. “They knew how dangerous it was.”

Orfanos and friend Nate Dennen attached a stainless steel memorial cross with the name “Lily Jean” to a wooden beam at the dock.

Dennen, a longtime friend of the boat's captain Gus, said he was a mentor who looked out for his crew.

“It taught me everything I know,” Orfanos said of his more than a year working on the Lily Jean — his first offshore fishing job. “Out on the ocean, it teaches you everything. But as far as I want the word to spread, Gus was the best guy ever.”

Cottone said any vessel leaving port needs a Coast Guard inspection decal, which requires up-to-date safety equipment — and the fishery observer conducts a safety check before each outing.

“If the observer deems the boat not to be safe or have any piece of safety equipment that’s not up to date ... that observer will shut the trip down,” he said.

Sanfilippo was well known in Gloucester. The Lily Jean, Sanfilippo, and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show “Nor’Easter Men.” The captain is described as a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, out of Gloucester, in the Georges Bank. The crew is shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days offshore catching haddock, lobster and flounder.

“We loved each other,” Giacalone said. “He treated me like a big brother and I treated him like my younger brother. To know the tragedy of this and to know the kind of character that Gus had, he’d be mortified to know that these lives were all lost.”

Giacalone said the Sanfillipo and Beal names were synonymous with local fishing going back decades. He said Sanfillipo “followed in the footsteps of his dad" while the Beal family has built boats and a brother is also a fisherman.

“Those two families are absolutely etched in centuries of these multiple generations of fishermen,” Giacalone said.

Just as Sanfillipo had years of experience, Samitt was undertaking her first job at sea as an observer. The 22-year-old was tasked with collecting data from the catch, used for making government regulations and other purposes.

Samitt’s family said in a statement that she was originally from Virginia and had a deep love of Gloucester’s fishing community and "conveyed to us how critical it was to protect the seas and fisheries.”

NOAA, meanwhile, offered its condolences.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Jada’s family, the families of the six fishermen, the NOAA observer community, and everyone affected,” its statement said.

Therrien, 44, was working his first season on a commercial fishing vessel, joining the Lily Jean after his close friend Rousanidis said the boat needed another crew member, his partner Becky Carp said. He had been on about a half-dozen trips already, she said, and appeared to be settling into the job despite complaints about the cold.

Therrien, she said, was "always up for an adventure” but took thed job mostly so he could provide for his family. The lifelong Massachusetts resident was the family's breadwinner and sought to supplement his construction work, which was scarce in the winter.

“He wanted to make sure his family was safe and taken care which is why he was busting his butt,” Carp said.

Carp last talked to Therrien on Tuesday before he headed out. She had wanted him to take the week off to spend time with him but he felt he needed to make money. She only learned about the sinking when alerts began popping up Friday.

“You always want to hold out hope that they are found. Come Saturday morning, I kind of knew at that point that they wouldn’t find any survivors,” Carp said. “I feel like it’s a nightmare that I am going to wake up from. It's just a bad dream and everything will be OK. But unfortunately, it's not."

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

Al Cattone, friend of the late Capt. Gus Sanfilippo, reacts while listening to friends and officials remember the victims of the fishing boat that went missing, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Christine Porper of Gloucester, Mass. pauses at the fisherman's memorial near the homeport of a fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A crucifix, made by a friend of the captain of the fishing boat "Lily Jean", is displayed on the pier of the homeport of the fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Gryphon Orfanos, who in the past worked on the fishing vessel "Lily Jean", stands on the pier of the homeport of the fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Flowers are left at fisherman's memorial near the homeport of a fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Christine Porper of Gloucester, Mass. pauses at the fisherman's memorial near the homeport of a fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A group of women gather at the fisherman's memorial near the homeport of a fishing boat that went missing with seven onboard, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Gloucester, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Every Homeland Security officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday, in the latest fallout after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents.

Noem said the body-worn camera program is being expanded nationwide as funding becomes available.

“We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Noem said in a social media post on X.

The news of the body cameras comes as Minneapolis has been the site of intense scrutiny over the conduct of federal officers after two U.S. citizens protesting immigration enforcement activities in the city were shot and killed.

It is the latest apparent effort by the Trump administration to ratchet down tensions after the shootings triggered protests and widespread criticism.

In the immediate hours after ICU nurse Alex Pretti's death, Noem went on the offensive, saying several times that Pretti “came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and attacked” officers, who took action to “defend their lives.” Other administration officials painted a similar picture.

Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing Pretti had only his mobile phone in his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of his pants as another officer began firing shots into his back.

Homeland Security has said that at least four Customs and Border Protection officers on the scene when Pretti was shot were wearing body cameras. The body camera footage from Pretti’s shooting has not been made public.

The department has not responded to repeated questions about whether any of the ICE officers on the scene of the killing of 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good earlier in January were wearing the cameras.

The shootings, and the narrative coming from some in the administration, sparked demands for accountability, including among some Republicans.

President Donald Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations there, displacing Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has become a lightning rod for criticism in the various operations he's joined in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Justice Department has also opened a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti's shooting, which it has not done in the case of Good.

Critics have increasingly called for Homeland Security to require its immigration enforcement officers to wear body cameras.

In response to Noem's announcement, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on X that body cameras should have been worn "long before (officers) killed two Americans.”

Noem's announcement comes as the administration and Democrats are locked in a congressional battle over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Democrats have been demanding changes to rein in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations. An additional $20 million for body cameras was included in the bipartisan federal funding package that was approved by the Senate late last week ahead of a deadline to prevent a government shutdown.

But the House has yet to approve the package, launching a partial government shutdown for certain agencies, including Homeland Security, last Saturday. But because many Homeland Security operations are deemed essential, they continue despite the federal funding lapse.

Body cameras have become a flashpoint in previous immigration enforcement operations under the Trump administration's mass deportations agenda, including during a major operation in Chicago last fall. A U.S. district judge ordered uniformed agents there to wear cameras, if available, and turn them on when engaged in arrests, frisks and building searches or when being deployed to protests.

A 2022 executive order on police reform by President Joe Biden directed federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. Trump had rescinded that directive after starting his second term.

Noem’s move comes after Trump over the weekend endorsed the idea of body cameras for immigration officers.

After Noem's announcement Monday, Trump said the decision was up to the secretary but said that he thought it was generally good for law enforcement to wear cameras.

“They generally tend to be good for law enforcement because people can’t lie about what’s happening,” he said in the Oval Office Monday, adding, “If she wants to do the camera thing, that’s OK with me.”

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, an advocacy group, said Noem didn't need to wait for more money to enforce the new policy nationwide, pointing to the massive immigration enforcement funding measure that Congress passed last summer that gave ICE nearly $30 billion for “enforcement and removal operations” including spending on information technology.

“That buys a lot of body cameras," he said.

Federal agents conduct immigration enforcement operations in a neighborhood on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)