NEW BEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A 39-year-old man was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a standoff with police that involved the abandonment of a 3-year-old child in New Bedford Wednesday night, according to police.
New Bedford police said they tried to stop a driver for failing to stop shortly after 7 p.m., but that driver took off and began shooting at officers. The driver eventually ran into his home on Blackmer Street, leaving a child behind in the car, and prompting a massive response from law enforcement in the usually quiet neighborhood.
“The police were coming so fast,” said Ivan Gonzalez, who witnessed the scene. “By the time we got to the corner the police was here. We kind of backed off, we didn’t want to get shot.”
“It was very abrupt, I don’t know how else to describe it. Very unsettling,” said Isaac Jean, a neighbor.
SWAT teams and officers with long guns pointed at a third story window were seen in the area. Homes in the surrounding area were evacuated out of an abundance of caution as the situation unfolded. Gonzalez also recalled hearing gunfire.
“We heard three pops, like gunshots,” Gonzalez said. “It sounded like firecrackers.”
The standoff eventually came to and end hours later.
Police, used a drone to enter the home, where they found the suspect deceased inside. The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office identified him as a 39-year-old man from New Bedford.
The child was not hurt in the incident.
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