Time was on the side of the Worcester Police Department in the barricaded situation that developed at 51 Colby Ave. Friday – time to deescalate the situation and time to wait out the man who had shot two people earlier in the morning, fired a weapon at police and then locked himself into his home.
“The plan was to wait him out, get him out peacefully,” said Lt. Sean Murtha, a spokesman for the department and one of the officers at the incident that stretched through 13 hours on Friday. Murtha was in the neighborhood again Saturday morning. He addressed reporters as other police officers took photos of the house and searched the backyard.
Because the incident is considered a domestic situation, police did not release the names or the conditions of the people involved but said they were related. Police said it appears both gunshot victims shot by the suspect will survive. The gunman also suffered a gunshot wound; he was shot in the shoulder by police and suffered a dog bite.
The department’s K-9 officer Beebs was instrumental in subduing the man as he tried to flee police through the back door of the home.
“The gunman fired on police multiple times,” Murtha said, adding that none of the officers was injured by the gunfire but several assigned to the SWAT unit suffered dehydration. Murtha did not know how many shots were fired.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital, where he remained in police custody. Murtha said he expects the man to be arraigned Monday, but had not determined the charges. He indicated they would include attempted murder and attempted murder of police officers.
The four-bedroom Cape-style house is listed as belonging to Anthony Boateng, according to the city’s property record website. Unofficial sources said the suspected gunman was identified as Caleb Boateng. The relationship between the listed owner and the suspected gunman was not immediately apparent.
Murtha said that police were alerted to the incident by several calls made to headquarters. However, when police arrived, the two gunshot victims had already left the home. He said police spoke with the victims as they were leaving the area.
Police relied on both technology, including body cameras, a drone, and the new emergency response team that includes mental health professionals, to ameliorate the incident. Police also called on known family members to talk to the barricaded gunman.
“We’re OK with the long time,” Murtha said, explaining that when there is no one being held hostage, or posing an immediate danger to the general public, police will opt to wait out the barricaded individual. If the person is in crisis, it could pass, with enough time; if the person is being affected by a substance, it could pass. “Time is on our side.”
Police were still processing the scene and have yet to review hours of video footage generated by officers, their body cameras, neighbors and other witnesses to the incident.
But the normal Saturday-morning quiet had returned to the area. Residents were out grocery shopping, walking their dogs and strolling with their children in the well-kept, neatly contained neighborhood. Some residents had been evacuated, and others had been asked to shelter in place.
Murtha praised area residents and thanked them for their patience, for the drinks of cold water some delivered to officers, and use of bathroom facilities for officers who were involved in the standoff.