Concord Police Investigating Machete Assault Incident At Homeless Camp

CONCORD, NH — Concord police are investigating a report of an assault at a homeless camp at Healy Park on Saturday night, reportedly involving a machete.

Police dispatch began receiving calls about the attack just before 8 p.m. from a homeless camper in the park. The camper reported another man woke up and started swinging a machete wildly at him. The men were known to each other. The victim reported injuries to police, so dispatch requested fire and rescue teams.

Multiple officers were then sent to the area near the Manchester Street entrance.

Capital Region Fire Dispatch sent firefighters and EMTs to the area to stage for police a few minutes later.

Police dispatch said, while speaking to the caller, the perpetrator was continuing to swing the machete around.

When officers arrived, they asked for descriptors of the suspect and began searching the area to find the exact camp.

“It’s quite a ways … at least a third of a mile” into the camp, one officer said.

Since dispatchers had taken multiple calls about the incident, there was some confusion about where the victim and perpetrator were in proximity to the camp.

“It’s coming in third party,” one fire dispatcher said, “so obviously we’re getting it 10th party. They’re still trying to figure it out, too, cause the caller is not with the patient. So, we’re trying to figure that out.”

The fire commander decided to go to Basin Street to stage but later drove to Manchester Street.

About five minutes later, police dispatch reported the victim was able to get the machete away from the perpetrator and harnessed it while waiting for officers. The victim was reportedly struck two or three times with the machete.

Around 8:15 p.m., one of the officers reported encountering a woman as well as the suspect, saying he was armed with a knife. Radio silence was requested for a few minutes, and two officers reported being out with the first officer and the suspect.

A fourth officer requested police preserve the scene as best as possible. Police tape was also asked for the scene, and a container large enough to secure a 14-inch weapon.

Another officer requested a camera to get photos of the victim’s two laceration injuries. The victim refused transport to the hospital and fire and rescue teams cleared the scene.

Police reported the woman with the suspect also witnessed the incident.

Around 9:15 p.m., the suspect was arrested on second-degree assault charges.

By 10 p.m., police had cleared the scene.

This is the fourth time in recent months police and fire and rescue teams were sent to the park to deal with an assault and other incidents at the homeless camp in that park.

Back in early March, a man was shot with a BB gun in one of the camps, requiring hospitalization. Kaitlin Cook was later arrested on charges. She faces first-degree and second-degree assault and reckless conduct-deadly weapon charges, all felonies. According to superior court filings, Cook’s case was boundover from Concord District Court to Merrimack County Superior Court and she issued a “notice of self-defense of premises” filing on May 22. She is back in superior court for a dispositional conference hearing on July 1.

About a month later, another BB gun shooting was reported in the park.

In late December 2023, homeless campers were rescued by firefighters after a rising Merrimack River began flooding the park and trapping homeless campers.

Concord NH Patch will update this post when more information becomes available.

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