James “Whitey’’ Bulger, the ruthless Boston gangster who eluded authorities for 16 years before being captured and then convicted in 2013 of participating in 11 murders, has died at a prison in West Virginia.   Bulger, 89, was found dead Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed. It said Bulger had arrived at the Hazelton Penitentiary in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, on Monday.

Authorities did not immediately release a cause of death, but Justin Tarovisky, a prison union official, told The Associated Press the death was being investigated as a homicide. The FBI has opened an inquiry.  Another prison union official who was not authorized to comment publicly said Bulger was beaten to death and wrapped in blankets to appear as if he were sleeping. Video surveillance showed at least two inmates going in and later exiting the cell before the body was discovered by two officers.  The officers initially checked Bulger’s cell because he had not appeared for breakfast, the official said. When covers were removed from the unresponsive Bulger, officers reported he appeared bloodied and severely beaten.

His life of crime inspired several movies, including “Black Mass” and “The Departed,’’ which won an Oscar for best picture of  2006.  Adding intrigue to his story was the FBI’s contention that Bulger was a longtime informant – which he denied – and the fact his younger brother, William “Billy” Bulger, became one of Massachusetts’ most powerful politicians as president of the state Senate for 18 years.  Bulger was seen as a Robin Hood by some: helping old ladies across the street and giving turkey dinners to neighbors at Thanksgiving. But authorities said he was diabolical and would kill anyone who would cross him.

Among the slayings linked to Bulger was the shooting death of Oklahoma entrepreneur Roger Wheeler, who was gunned down outside his country club in Tulsa in 1981. Bulger was also convicted for his role in murders in several states and for racketeering, extortion, drug dealing, money laundering and weapons possession.  Patricia Donahue’s husband, Michael, was killed in 1982 when he offered a ride home to a man allegedly targeted for death by Bulger because he was talking to the FBI. “I’d like to open up a champagne bottle and celebrate,” Donahue told WBZ-TV in Boston on Tuesday.  Tom Duffy, a retired state police detective who hunted Bulger and was a consultant on “The Departed,” called word of the gangster’s death “celebratory news.”

Four police officers were among the wounded in the attack on a synagogue in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Squirrel Hill as they answered Saturday’s 911 call that became the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.  Though authorities have not formally released the names of the injured officers, they said two city policemen and two SWAT team officers were among the six people wounded at the Tree of Life Synagogue, whose members rented space to two other Jewish congregations as well as having their own worship services.

The two SWAT officers were hit multiple times, including one critically wounded, as they worked to take accused shooter Robert Bowers, 46, of Baldwin, Pennsylvania, into custody.   “We’re under fire! We’re under fire! He’s got an automatic weapon and firing at us from the synagogue,” according to several radio dispatches from officers that gave a raw look at the chaotic and harrowing mass shooting. “Every unit in the city needs to get here now!”

Officers shepherded the wounded survivors to safety even as the gunfire continued with them as the targets, according to emergency dispatches and police reports.  One of the officers suffered a severed artery, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said.  “It could’ve been much worse, but his partner placed a tourniquet” on him, the mayor said.

After visiting with one of the injured officers, Peduto said that the man was in good spirits.  “They’re all heroes,” Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Shubert said. “Who knows what would’ve happened if he got out in the streets.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also spent time with the wounded officers.