BOSTON (WHDH) - South End residents described the heart-stopping moments when a Boston police officer was shot Sunday and a heavily armed SWAT team descended on their neighborhood to get the suspected gunman to surrender.
A Boston police officer was shot in the calf around 1:55 p.m., triggering a tense standoff with a barricaded suspect on West Springfield Street.
Brian Fogerty and Lizzie Loughridge said they watched out their window as SWAT teams surrounded the area.
“We didn’t really hear what was happening until they started shutting the streets down and cars were coming out of everywhere,” Fogerty said.
Police officers wearing ballistics vests kept a safe distance while a negotiator arrived at the scene.
“Even the EMTs had bulletproof vests on, and helmets,” Fogerty said.
Loughridge said an officer declining to take an assault rifle was a good indication the incident would end peacefully.
“He pulled up down the street and then got all ready, pulled out this giant gun and then closed his trunk,” he recalled. “And then he opened the trunk and was like, ‘OK, I don’t need the gun,’ and put the gun back in the car. And we were like, ‘That’s probably a good sign.'”
Despite the hectic scene, witnesses said things settled down quickly, as police were able to talk the suspect down and take him into custody without further incident.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)