Police: Paint Store Robbery Was Faked

The that brought K-9 units and police helicopters to Needham to search for a suspect late Tuesday is now believed to have been a fake, WCVB reports.

, along with Massachusetts State Police and others in the area, had responded around 5 p.m. to a report of armed robbery at at 77 Charles St. in Needham.

According to reports, the suspect was said to have been wearing a ski mask and showed a firearm before fleeing on foot toward I-95.

Police told Patch around 6 p.m. that they had an unnamed man in custody and that the search had been called off.

Later that evening, WCVB reported that police had released the suspect's name. Brian McLaughlin, 31, of Stoughton is reportedly an employee at Pittsburgh Paints and has been arrested and charged with larceny from a building, false report of a crime to police, obstruction of justice and disturbing the peace, according to the WCVB article.

A Needham police cruiser responding to the scene was involved in a crash with another vehicle. Both drivers were transported to the hospital for non life-threatening injuries, Chief Paul Buckley said Tuesday evening.

Needham Patch will have more on the story as information becomes available.