Photo: Michael Dwyer/AP/Shutterstock
Fourth of July vacationers were held up for hours on Saturday as an armed standoff on Interstate 95 halted traffic in Massachusetts.
After almost nine hours, 11 “heavily armed” suspectssurrendered without incident and were arrested, according to CNN. The Associated Press reports that two of the suspectswere hospitalized, but police said it was for preexisting conditions unrelated to the standoff.
The standoff began at around 1:30 a.m. when police encountered two vehicles in the breakdown lane of I-95 with their hazard lights on. The men in the vehicles wore tactical vests and military-style gear, carrying body cameras and a variety of long rifles and pistols.
They claimed to be “from a group that does not recognize our laws” and were reportedly headed from Rhode Island to Maine for “training.”
The trooper requested to see the suspects' driver’s licenses and firearms licenses, but they either didn’t have them or didn’t have them in their possession. During the interaction, several of the suspects ran into the woods with their firearms.
“You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws that we have in Massachusetts,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason said during a press briefing.
Michael Dwyer/AP/Shutterstock
Mason noted that police were able to resolve the situation “through a combination of negotiation and tactical measures,” including a perimeter of armored vehicles. In addition to partially shutting down I-95, police issued a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding area, which was later lifted after the standoff ended.
Wakefield Police Departmentthanked the roughly 150 police officersfrom around the state who responded to the call. FBI Boston spokeswoman Kristen Setera also said that the bureau is “fully engaged with our state and local partners.”
According to the AP, a man who claimed to be from a group called Rise of the Moors posted a video to social media from I-95. “We are Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders,” the group’swebsitereads.
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Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan noted that authorities are working on identifying the suspects, who are expected to appear in court in Woburn on Tuesday as prosecutors determine what charges they will face.
source: people.com
