Medford School Locked Down For Man With Knife

MEDFORD, MA – A man armed with at least one knife prompted a lockdown of Columbus Elementary School in Medford Tuesday morning, police said. Police said the Medford Police Department received a call about a potentially dangerous man walking near the area of Medford Street and Main Street around 11:30 a.m. The caller said that the man was carrying two knives and waving them, threatening passing pedestrians and drivers.

Medford police responded with a bean bag shotgun and requested that Massachusetts State Police respond with a taser. Officers were able to contain the man in the area of Hicks Avenue near the school and a trained negotiating officer spoke with him, police said. The school was placed on lockdown while the officer began speaking with the man.

As the negotiator spoke with the man for approximately an hour, he began acting irrational and let his guard down, police said. He sat down with his back to a ramp at the front of the school and one of the officers jumped on him from behind. The group disarmed and handcuffed the suspect and took him to the hospital for evaluation, according to police.

Police said the man may be summonsed on criminal charges, pending the results of his medical evaluation.

The Medford Police Department said at no time was any child or staff member at the school in danger, and there is "no reason to believe" that he was headed to the school.

"It seems that he was walking around in an enraged state with no planned direction," police said in a press release.

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