Upland Gardens Hostage Incident Ends Peacefully Worcester, MA (January 10, 2015) - On Saturday, January 10, 2015 at approximately 8:30 AM Worcester Police responded to an Upland Gardens apartment for an unknown problem. Upon the officers arrival he met with an 18-year-old male and his 42-year-old mother. Police met the victim’s at a relative’s apartment. The victim’s live in another apartment within the Upland Gardens housing complex. According to the male victim, he had come home at approximately 12:30 AM Saturday morning and was greeted by the suspect, his mother’s boyfriend. The male victim stated that when he entered the apartment the suspect escorted him to his mother’s bedroom. The male victim stated that when he entered the bedroom he observed his mother on the floor with her arms tied together. The two victim’s remained in the bedroom throughout the evening. Police were informed by the mother that her ordeal started Friday evening at approximately 8:00 PM. At this time she was approached by her live in boyfriend. The suspect had a handgun in his waistband and began to argue with her. During the argument she was tied up by the suspect and left on the bedroom floor. The suspect was highly intoxicated and acting very irrational. The couple’s 6-year-old son was in the apartment during the ordeal but not allowed in the bedroom. He was not harmed. The officer was told that between 12:30 AM to 4:00 AM the suspect fired his weapon into the floor on two separate occasions. At approximately 8:00 AM this morning the suspect allowed his 42-year-old girlfriend and her 18-year-old son to leave the apartment but the 6-year-old boy was not allowed to leave and remained behind with his father. At this time the Worcester Police S.W.A.T team and hostage negotiators responded to the scene. Additional officers secured the area. Communications were developed between police and the male suspect. After conversing with the suspect he eventually agreed to exit the apartment and surrender himself. Worcester EMS evaluated the suspect and the boy at the scene. The female victim was also evaluated earlier as a precautionary measure. There were no injuries reported. The male suspect was transported to U-Mass Medical Center (university campus) for mental health evaluation and will be placed under arrest for domestic offenses. There were numerous police officers and officials at the scene including police Chief Gary J. Gemme. According to the chief, The police officers involved in the incident at Upland Gardens did a tremendous job in peacefully resolving a volatile situation. Their training, experience and professionalism were on display as they quickly resolved this matter. I am proud of how this incident was handled by all the officers involved. The consistent investment in training and equipping our officers with the tools they need was critical to the successful resolution of this incident. The suspects name will not be released due to the recent changes in domestic laws. The suspect will be arraigned at the Worcester County District Courthouse on Monday, January 12, 2015.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 22:23:02 +0000