On June 29th the Lowell Police Department answered a call reporting a male suspect possibly armed with a handgun inside an apartment located at 415 Westford St. The incident was made known to the public at approximately 4pm over an emergency radio broadcast. According to the broadcast, a resident of the building contacted law enforcement after leaving the apartment because they felt threatened by the suspect. He allegedly “kept handling” a weapon that was tucked into his waistband.
When Lowell police arrived on scene, they took the threat seriously and evacuated all residents from the three-story multifamily building. Traffic between Dover and Wilder streets was then shut down, as well as the area of Pine St and Princeton Blvd as an extra precaution.
Shortly after 5pm, State Police EOD, NEMLEC, Negotiators and others all arrived on scene packed in armed tactical vehicles, one of which was parked right out front of the Westford Street building. A NEMLEC member then aimed a rotating turret located on top of the vehicle at the building.
A reported 30 SWAT team, members armed with long guns and shields approached the building, entering through both the front and back. Before 7pm, the team got the situation handled and began to exit the building. Upon theirr exit, a man in police custody was then brought out and placed in the back of an ambulance which then left the scene.
The three hour long incident was then put to an end. The nearby roads were reopened, the scene was cleared, and questions to what occurred in the Westford building were answered.
The male suspect was thought to have had a real gun, but law enforcement uncovered that it was actually a toy firearm. There were no injuries of any person involved in this incident, and the man responsible is in custody.
Images provided courtesy of the State Police Association of Massachusetts
