State Investigating Officer Involved Shooting In Concord Park

CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office is investigating an officer involved shooting Sunday. The man, a suspect in a burglary, was shot after a standoff with police in the baseball diamond of the park after officers were sent to an alarm activation at the Merrimack Lodge Skate House. Limited official information is available about the case at post time.

According to dispatch and scanner chatter, officers were sent to the lodge around 11:20 p.m. Saturday for a report of an alarm activation and a broken front window. A few minutes later, two other officers told dispatch they were heading to the baseball diamond to "check on some people." The second officer told dispatch, "I'm not sure what's going on over here but this could be involved."

Dispatch informed the officers after watching security footage from the lodge, a man was recorded breaking in but was only in the building about 30 seconds. The man was wearing a dark hoodie sweatshirt, white sneakers, and a backpack. There was no one else in the lodge, dispatch said.

"This kid matches the description," a female officer said, "I don't know who it is yet (but) we're getting further."

Another person at the baseball diamond informed the officer the man was in possession of a loaded handgun. The man was identified and the officer requested more units. The other officers cleared the lodge and headed to the baseball field.

The officer who requested backup said family members were attempting to "talk him down" and confirmed he had a weapon. A family member left the area later.

Officers began to set up a perimeter around the baseball field, attempting to keep the man from fleeing from the field into the neighborhood.

Around 11:50 p.m., Concord fire and rescue teams were requested to the area and staged on Washington Street.

"Watch crossfire with your positions," one officer said as they began to approach the man.

One of the officers took "verbal command" of the situation and attempted to calm the man down since he had the handgun pointed at his chin, according to scanner chatter. Another officer stated, "We have him contained … he's not going to be able to leave the park."

Another officer then stated that they were "backing off" because there was no confirmation of a handgun. The officer said it looked like beer cans near him — with audible screaming in the background. Another officer said the man was laying on top of the gun while rolling around on the ground.

"We can see the silver object," the officer said.

After about a minute and a half of radio silence, at just after midnight, an officer said they couldn't see if there was anything underneath him and he was not rolling over because of his wounds after the man was shot in the arm, according to scanner chatter. Officers began their approach cautiously as the man clutched his hand, another officer stated. Officers were able to handcuff the suspect, wrap him up with a tourniquet, and call in EMTs to transport him to Concord Hospital.

The suspect has a prior criminal history and was accused of raping a girl in 2017 in Concord. He later pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was sentenced to 90 days late last year.

NewsCam603 posted this video on YouTube.com.

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