Hostage negotiators rush to Massachusetts home after man, 21, “barricaded himself inside and shot two family members”
- A 21-year-old man barricaded himself in a Massachusetts home after shooting two members of his family and then shooting at police officers.
- Both injured family members have been transported to a Worcester area hospital and are being treated for their injuries.
- Police are now attempting to negotiate with the shooter along with hostage negotiators and a mental health doctor.
Hostage negotiators have surrounded a Massachusetts home where a 21-year-old man barricaded himself after shooting two family members and then shooting at police officers who tried to arrest him.
Officers were dispatched to a Worcester home around 8:38 a.m. Friday after an unidentified man shot and wounded two family members, a woman and a man, with a handgun.
Lt. Sean Murtha told MassLive that police surrounded the house on Colby Avenue.
When the officers tried to apprehend the shooter, he fired at the officers before running back into the house and locking himself inside.
“The officers attempted to detain that individual and we believe that during that attempt to detain him, the officers were shot, fortunately without injuring any of them. At that moment, he ran back to the house,’ Murtha.
Both injured family members have been transported to a Worcester area hospital and are being treated for their injuries.
The officers were not injured in the attack.
Police are now attempting to negotiate with the shooter along with hostage negotiators and a mental health doctor.
Police said they also contacted the individual’s family to “slow things down and negotiate.”
Officers have been trying to make contact for several hours.
Police officers are shown outside a home in Worcester, Massachusetts, where a 21-year-old man allegedly barricaded himself inside and shot two people on Friday.
Murtha said the man “is not someone we deal with on a regular basis, not very well known” to police.
Worcester police closed Colby Avenue Friday morning and told neighbors to stay away from the area.
A woman was trying to visit her friend on Colby Street Friday, but police told her to shelter in place, according to MassLive.
A helicopter and drone were seen hovering over the street, where on Friday afternoon, the suspect was still inside.
Murtha told MassLive that police maintained a perimeter around the home and evacuated neighbors near the home.
A neighbor was escorted to safety by police officers with guns drawn.
The suspect also opened fire on police officers during a confrontation involving hostage negotiators, it is claimed.
Abdul Bilal also lives nearby and said he was shocked to witness the scene.
‘I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve been here for probably two years,” she told WBZ-TV. “I have never seen so many police and fire trucks, ambulances, different types of police cars, all of this. It gives a little scary.
James Cawley, a nearby resident, was not there when the incident occurred.
He returned to find the neighborhood swarming with police officers.
He had to wait hours before he could return home, according to Telegram.
Murtha said trying to make contact is the top priority now.
‘We have some potential phone numbers to call. There are several ways to make contact, and again, in a situation like this, time is usually on our side. We want to slow things down, we want to do everything we can to ensure a peaceful resolution,” Murtha said.
