HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS – [HN NOTES & MULLINGS ON THE MATTER] – Early Friday evening at around 8:30 p.m.  –  3/15/24  –  when families in the thickly settled area of Winter Street were still busy occasionally peeking out through thin, weather-worn panes of glass to find their neighborhood swarming with a military grade armored truck, shadows of heavily armed Ninja Turtle-like figures, lines of cop cars, and a large drone buzzing loudly overhead, Paulo Farias (see above mugshot) entered the lobby at Plymouth Police Headquarters, took off his shirt, knelt down, and lifted his hands above his head while holding his phone, according to a Plymouth Police statement. While Lieutenant George Driscoll and Officer Kyle Kreitzer of the Plymouth PD approached the kneeling man, they could hear a man on the phone identifying himself as a Barnstable Police Detective, telling them the shirtless man had just shot someone and was wanted for attempted murder in Hyannis… and to take him into custody forthwith.

The Plymouth officers did as their brother in Barnstable had asked, and Farias was reportedly arrested without incident. Paulo Farias, 26, of Hyannis was turned over to the custody of police back in Barnstable, charged with a litany of serious felonies, including attempted murder.

Earlier at around 6:20 p.m., back in the thickly settled, bustling Hyannis neighborhood – and as you will see and hear in the following HN Video – Barnstable Police and Hyannis Rescue had rushed to the area of Locust Street for a man covered in blood who had just approached someone’s home. Moments later the man reportedly got into an Animal Control Officer’s car reporting he had just been shot, according to radio transmissions. The first officers on scene found a man with a serious gunshot injury to his shoulder, possibly with an entry and exit wound, according to radio transmissions.  The victim reportedly also suffered some type of “secondary” head wound.  The man was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital, later to be transported to a Boston area hospital… and his condition was later reported as “stable” according to a BPD media statement Saturday morning.

Upon investigation, police determined the 41-year-old male gunshot victim had been shot by a person “directly known to him” – a “domestic relation,” according to police – “a 26-year-old Hyannis resident of Winter Street.” Official Barnstable Police contacts were not able to release the suspect’s name due to the new Massachusetts “public records laws that police departments are beholden to regarding certain domestic relations…”

… ah, good ol’ Massachusetts, where notions of transparency and public information go to die. (But, once again, I digress… and I’m not bitching and complaining about the police – at least not this time – as they were just trying to play by the new, abnormal Massachusetts “rules” that repeatedly say “nothing to see here, folks…unless you’re one of us, a made member of this thing of ours…”)

There is so much to unpack about Friday’s shooting scene, the second Hyannis shooting within the past two weeks (that we at least know about!). The first thing that struck me as unusual – “desde mi punto de vista” – was the apparent level of apathy emerging among a seemingly battle-hardened number of residents in that area, an area that has sadly seen “it all” before. Some briefly peeked out from their living rooms at the commotion, shrugged and returned to watching television. Another man apparently just home from a long day’s work, stepped onto his doorstep, saw a couple Ninja Turtles jog by, shrugged and returned inside to order pizza – ‘it was going to have to be a fast-food delivery night, oh well.’ A delivery driver arrived about 20 minutes later with a plastic bag full of supper and was escorted to the man’s doorstep by an armed Massachusetts Environmental policeman assisting on the perimeter… sure, the entire thing was a colossal “[bleep] show,” but a man’s gotta eat!

But perhaps the most telling sign of neighborhood apathy was the bizarre fact only one person came outside to ask “why” throughout the entire ordeal that had shut down a section of Hyannis for up to two hours at that point. Right around 8:15 p.m., a woman with a thick Brazilian accent exited a home’s basement and walked toward HN who had been filming the circus from the end of her driveway. She spoke Portuguese and I spoke Spanish… and together we managed to communicate relatively well. She asked and I told her there had been a shooting. She didn’t seem surprised. In Spanish, I mentioned they had needed someone to “traducir” with the occupants who apparently were all non-English speakers. Again, she didn’t seem surprised. We congenially wished each other “boa noite,” me admitting my need to study more Portuguese… and that was the end of that.

Shortly thereafter, a Portuguese/Spanish speaking Barnstable Police patrolwoman said hello as she walked past me toward the SWAT truck. They had needed someone to translate earlier on, but by this point everyone had already been talked out of the residence using loud English and rudimentary sign language… like a cop modeling his own hands in the air for “hands up,” or pushing them higher as if “reach for the sky!” was the desired behavior.

At around 8:30-ish p.m., it was learned their suspect had just turned himself in, on the other side of the bridge, in Plymouth. SWAT dogs and ninja turtles began standing down. Non-made members of the public peeked out, shrugged once more, and went back to eating pizza and watching television. HN went home to finally have breakfast. It was just another Friday evening in Hyannis for many of us.

The Saturday morning press release from the Barnstable Police ended with, “As a result of the criminal investigation, the 26-year-old male suspect was taken into custody by [the] Plymouth Police Department without further incident. The suspect is charged with Assault by Dangerous Weapon – Firearm, Assault to Murder, Assault and Battery, and several other firearms related charges. He was held on $100,000 cash bail at the Barnstable Police Department and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday March 18, 2024 at Barnstable District Court.”

At the time of this HN update, it is unknown what exactly the “several other firearm related charges” are.  Did the suspect have a valid license for the pistol he is accused of shooting his “domestic relation” with? And “why” did this alleged shooting occur in the first place?

We may never ever know the full truth because, you know, “Massachusetts…”

The following HN Video highlights the entire Friday thing…

*   S I G H   *

… “nothing to see here, folks.”  But please pass the pizza and stay tuned!

I shall do my utmost.

[HN VIDEO – PRESS PLAY]

P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is brought to you by Quincy Jones… [CLICK IT/CRANK IT! HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]

* Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

PREVIOUS BPD UPDATE  – 3/16/24:

On Friday March 15, 2024 at approximately 6:20 p.m. the Barnstable Police Department received a 911 call from a female on Winter Street in Hyannis that an adult male had stumbled to her home and appeared to be suffering from several gunshot wounds. Members of the Barnstable Police Patrol Division, Cape Cod Regional SWAT Team, and Barnstable Police Detective Division responded to the scene and began an investigation into the incident.

Upon investigation, it was determined that the 41-year-old male victim had been shot by another person directly known to him, a 26-year-old Hyannis resident of Winter St.

The gunshot victim was transported by Hyannis Fire Department rescue personnel to Cape Cod Hospital, where he was initially treated and then later transferred to a Boston medical facility. At the time of this press release the victim was reported to be in stable condition.

As a result of the criminal investigation, the 26-year-old male suspect was taken into custody by Plymouth Police Department without further incident. The suspect is charged with Assault by Dangerous Weapon – Firearm, Assault to Murder, Assault and Battery, and several other firearms related charges. He was held on $100,000 cash bail at the Barnstable Police Department and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday March 18, 2024 at Barnstable District Court.

INITIAL HN REPORT:

HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS – [HN VIDEO NOTES] – As you will see and hear in the following HN Video, Barnstable Police and Hyannis Rescue rushed to the area of Locust Street for a man covered in blood. Moments later the man reportedly got into a Animal Control Officer’s car reporting he had just been shot, according to radio transmissions. The first officers on scene found a man with a gunshot injury to his shoulder, possibly with an entry and exit wound, according to radio transmissions.  The victim reportedly also suffered some type of head wound.  The man was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital and his condition is unknown at the time of this report.

Police then surrounded a house on Winter Street where the shooting allegedly had just occurred. It was believed the suspect was still inside the house and officers treated the scene as a “barricaded suspect” situation. SWAT was activated and can be seen arriving and getting down to business in the following video. The people who were taken into custody after being called out with their hands up were NOT the suspects. It turns out the suspect made his way to Plymouth, according to sources and radio transmissions. He is said to have turned himself into police in Plymouth, according to sources… but that has not yet been officially confirmed… standby for updates… [DEVELOPING]

[HN VIDEO – PRESS PLAY]

P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is brought to you by Quincy Jones… [CLICK IT/CRANK IT! HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY OBLIGATORY!]

Business Card Directory

Add your business card click here