(NEXSTAR) – State and local police in Massachusetts are engaged in a standoff with a group of armed men on Saturday morning who claimed that they did not “recognize our laws” before fleeing into the woods during a traffic stop.
“No threats were made, but these men should be considered armed and dangerous,” the Wakefield Police Department said in a statement posted to its website on Saturday morning. “We are asking residents in these areas to lock their doors and remain inside their homes. A heavy police presence will be in this area as well.”
I-95 in Wakefield was also shut down in both directions, along with one of the commuter lines that runs through the area, state police said.
The situation began to unfold in the early hours on Saturday morning, when a state trooper stopped to assist a group of motorists refueling two vehicles at 1:30 a.m. in the emergency breakdown lane of the highway, said Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason during a media briefing. He noted that the trooper observed about 8-to-10 people standing outside of the cars clad in “tactical or military-style uniforms,” some of whom were wearing body cameras or carrying rifles or sidearms.
The trooper asked the group for their drivers’ licenses, and the licenses for their weapons, but they could produce neither, according to Col. Mason.
Backup arrived from both local and state police, but “at some point” during their interaction with the group, a number of them fled into the wooded area off the highway.
Two of the men have since been apprehended and arrested by members of the North Eastern Massachusetts Police Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC).
The hostage negotiation team is currently engaged with remaining members of the group, some of whom are still in the woods, and some who are still by the vehicles.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to resolve this peacefully with them,” Col. Mason said.
This is a developing story.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/3jFIyBy
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