Authorities are investigating after a mentally ill man gained access to the airfield at Worcester Airport, stole a fuel truck, and drove it around an area where aircraft taxi.
Troopers assigned to the airport responding to a report of an unknown man on the airfield about 6:24 p.m. Wednesday found the suspect sitting inside the shell of a fuselage used by firefighters for training exercises with a black material smeared on his face, according to state police.
The 31-year-old Leominster man, whose name was not released, was reportedly speaking incoherently and appeared to be suffering from mental illness.
EMTs from nearby UMass Medical Center examined the man and determined that he was not a threat to harm himself or others, but decided he should seek a mental health examination.
As they investigated, police found the man’s car parked near an airport building next to a vandalized pickup truck. They also found a spilled bucket of tar, believed to be the substance he had rubbed on his face.
The man was booked on charges of trespassing, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, breaking and entering, and malicious destruction of property. He was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail and his parents were notified about the EMT’s recommendation that he undergo a mental health evaluation.
State police say a preliminary investigation indicates the man posed no threat of terrorism.
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