Man Assaulted State Hospital Employee, Escaped In Tewksbury: Police

TEWKSBURY, MA — A man is facing charges after he assaulted Tewksbury State Hospital employees and escaped, according to police.

Police responded at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to a report of an employee who had been assaulted at Tewksbury State Hospital.

Police investigated and found that Benjamin Hirtle, 27, of Hingham, allegedly assaulted two hospital employees and then escaped.

Hirtle was being held at the hospital because his bail had been revoked on a pending charge of enticing a minor in Hingham.

Police found Hirtle in the area of Livingston Street and he was arrested.

Police said they caught Hirtle quickly before a Code-Red notification could be sent out.

The hospital is near John Wynn Middle School. The school was notified of the incident immediately, and students and staff were kept inside of the building as a precaution, police said.

Hirtle was charged with assault and battery on a public employee, escape from a penal institution/court, assault, and two counts of attempt to commit a crime to wit unarmed robbery.

He was scheduled for arraignment in Lowell District Court on Friday.

"My number one priority is the Tewksbury community and it concerns me that the security at the State Hospital is not adequate. This individual escaped a locked unit and made it into our community and that is unacceptable," Police Chief Ryan Columbus said in a statement. "I am pleading once again with the State to fix this problem immediately. I am grateful for my officers who responded quickly and apprehended this individual, but this needs to be corrected for the safety of our residents."