Billerica – On Friday, January 8, 2021, at approximately 0830 AM, the Billerica Police Department received a frantic call reporting an individual had possibly shot himself in the area of 7 Bridge Street, which is a commercial building consisting of various independent businesses. The caller explained that they were not on site and had been contacted by another witness who was still on scene. Within minutes of the report, police arrived on scene and met with the witness. Police subsequently learned that an armed and emotionally disturbed adult male was currently located inside a mobile home trailer parked on the site. Police were informed by the witness that the involved party had just discharged a weapon while inside the mobile home trailer and their condition was unknown. As police attempted to enter the trailer to check on the well-being of the involved party, they quickly determined the subject was alive, agitated and highly emotional and had barricaded themselves inside the trailer. Due to the obvious safety concerns for the community, which included a bordering residential neighborhood along with a McDonald’s Restaurant abutting the incident location, police quickly decided to issue a shelter-in-place order to surrounding homes and businesses while also shutting down vehicular traffic on Bridge Street. A request for assistance was made for additional emergency resources, including EMS and Fire, along with NEMLEC and the Massachusetts State Police. As part of the NEMLEC response, trained Negotiators were utilized to establish communication with the armed, emotionally disturbed individual, who was barricaded inside the trailer. After approximately 90 minutes of negotiation, the subject surrendered peacefully and was placed into protective custody for transportation to Lowell General Hospital, Saints Campus, for a medical and mental health evaluation. Nobody was injured as a result of this incident.

As a result of the above events, the Billerica Police are actively evaluating potential criminal charges related to the subject’s actions, including possession and discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, in violation of MGL Chapter 269 Section 12E, as well as other potential violations of the Massachusetts General Laws.