SHOT FIRED: Five agencies search for distraught woman wandering with loaded gun…
MASHPEE – According to a Mashpee Police radio transmission, the distraught woman had “just fired off a round.”
Mashpee police had been searching for the young woman in the area of Route 130 and Route 28 since about 1:30 this morning. She was described as being extremely distraught and armed with a gun. She had been talking about harming herself.
When a bullet was reportedly fired (this according to a radio transmission and another unofficial source), agencies from neighboring towns took note and began to assist. Barnstable Police already had two squad cars in the area, but decided to deploy an additional five cruisers when a supervisor learned she was possibly crossing over the town line towards Barnstable on Route 28.
A supervisor advised patrols the woman had just made fatalistic statements, saying it would be “easier to let police kill her because she was having a hard time pulling the trigger.”
It sounded as if she was contemplating “suicide by cop.”
A state trooper had also moved into the area. Sandwich Police alerted patrols and had them focus on areas along their town line. A Barnstable County Sheriff K-9 Unit also moved into position…
A description was given out as police tried to talk to her on her cellphone. She was disoriented, confused, and crying. The cellphone was “pinged” in an attempt to pinpoint her location. They knew her phone was in the area of the Santuit River. But, due to the location of the ping, their estimates were only accurate to an area spanning a mile and a half.
(Just this past New Year’s morning, Barnstable, Sandwich, Bourne, and state police tried to locate a suicidal man armed with an unlicensed gun. They wanted to save his life; but when police finally rolled up on him in a parking lot near the Sagamore Bridge, he turned the revolver on himself and pulled the trigger. He later was pronounced dead in a Boston area hospital.)
This morning police found themselves concerned about another life. And based on the circumstances, they had to use extra caution and concern regarding their own lives.
About an hour into the call police located the woman and moved in. When HN arrived, police had the young woman secured in handcuffs and were walking her out of a wooded area on Route 130 in Mashpee. Once safe and secure, officers treated her with compassion and called a rescue unit to the scene.
The female was transported to the hospital. (At first they were headed to Falmouth, but may have been rerouted to CCH in Hyannis…)
Thanks to police, the situation ended well. Nobody was hurt and the young woman will now get the help she needs.
The following video highlights the scene right after police move in and secure the woman in handcuffs. [For the best quality picture, press play & select 1080p HD in the settings… Also note, the date of the video should read 1/3/2015, not 1/3/2014…]
1/3/2015
Robert Bastille,
