Police were called when Figueroa allegedly threatened the roommate with a knife. When officers arrived, they say they found him armed with a shotgun and wearing body armor.
Figueroa shot officers Matt Morris and Richard Cintolo before being killed by other officers, police said.
Both officers were rushed to the hospital in critical condition, but police say they are expected to survive.
Police say Figueroa did not have a valid gun permit. He had no criminal record in Massachusetts, but FOX25 uncovered a divorce filling, in which Figueroa's ex-wife said he assaulted her several times.
According to an indictment obtained by FOX25, Figueroa was arrested in Arizona in 2009; and he pleaded guilty a year later in Georgia to damaging his own car with fire and unlawfully representing himself to be a private detective from the state of Georgia.
"For me, he was a good guy," a neighbor, Juan Salazar, said. "I didn't actually know him very well. Just every time I walk with the dog."
On Facebook, Figueroa went by the name "Kocoa Xango" and FOX25 found a trademark application for that name.
On the Facebook page, Figueroa had posted videos of Quran translations and several articles about police-involved shootings.
He was otherwise known to residents in his East Boston neighborhood as a guy who kept to himself and many knew he was a constable for the city of Boston.
According to the U.S. Army, Figueroa enlisted in the Army Reserves in 2003 and received a hardship discharge five months later.
"Mr. Figueroa never attended basic training or advanced individual training," Army spokesperson Tatjana Christian told FOX25 in a statement.
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