MEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - Police in Medford arrested a man Tuesday who they say was carrying as many as three knives and threatening people near a school.
According to officials, police received a call at around 11:30 Tuesday morning that a man was carrying knives in the area of Medford Street and Main Street. Witnesses told police the man was waving the knives and threatening people who were on foot and in cars.
The suspect walked to Willis Ave and Hicks Ave. There, a Medford Police officer approached the man but called for backup. More officers responded to the scene and contained the man near the Columbus School on Hicks Ave.
One of the officers, trained as a negotiator, spoke with the suspect as other officers surrounded the suspect, who was acting irrationally and eventually sat down with his back to a ramp on the outside of the school. The negotiator spoke to the suspect for around an hour before a state trooper saw an opportunity and jumped on the man.
Officers were able to move in and disarm the suspect, who was taken to a local hospital.
The suspect, who has not been identified, will undergo a medical evaluation and may be charged in court at a later date.
During the incident, the Columbus School took action to secure the campus, and police sent a school resource officer into the school for additional security.
Officers do not believe the man intended to target the school but rather “was walking around in an enraged state with no planned direction.”
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