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One dead in ‘domestic-type’ situation

By Hannah LaClaire - Staff Writer | Oct 21, 2017

Hannah LaClaire A SWAT Team member helps secure the perimeter

NASHUA – One man is dead following an hours-long standoff police in what officials are describing as a possible domestic situation.

The Nashua Police Department responded to a call to 5 Beard St. Friday morning that a man had entered a woman’s apartment with a firearm, said Dennis Linehan, deputy chief of the Nashua Police Department.

The woman, who was known to the suspect, was able to flee and contacted police. A standoff with the suspect, which involved the Nashua and Manchester SWAT teams lasted until around 7 p.m.

“We did have contact with the suspect for a period of time, and then at some point during the negotiations, it appears that the suspect took his own life,” Linehan said.

He said it appears to be “a domestic type incident,” but is a “very fluid” and “ongoing” investigation.

“Unfortunately somebody was hurt and you never want the outcome to be like it was tonight. You try to do everything you can in your power to encourage a positive resolution, and it’s not really a good night for anybody,” he said, and added they still need to notify the alleged suspect’s family and speak with the victim.

Police set up a perimeter around the areas of Auburn and Fletcher streets during the afternoon and issued a Code Red and suggesting residents “shelter in place.”

Surrounding areas were evacuated, and SWAT team members, including snipers, entered the residences to determine vantage points.

Amherst Street School notified parents of the situation and told them not to let students walk home from school, as it was not safe.

Reports were of an individual, now deceased, who had barricaded himself in the apartment.

For several hours, all that could be seen were officers and heavily armed SWAT team members milling about the premises and neighbors lined along the street, speculating about the situation.

At about 4 p.m., law enforcement officials sent in a drone to help assess the situation. The department’s K9 unit also was on hand.

At about 6:30 p.m., more than a dozen loud bangs were heard, although Linehan later confirmed they were “non-lethal tools … at our disposal to encourage the individual to come out,” and not gunshots.

There was, at one point, talk of a “challenge” between the alleged suspect and the police, but any fire between the two parties was avoided, and no one else was injured.

The individual took his life around 7 p.m. according to the police timeline, but officers remained on the scene until much later.

Additional information will be forthcoming from the Uniform Field Operations Bureau, a press release stated.

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