Un enfrentamiento de una hora con un grupo de hombres fuertemente armados que cerró parcialmente la Interestatal 95 terminó el sábado con nueve sospechosos bajo custodia, dijo la policía estatal de Massachusetts.
La policía dijo que los sospechosos incluyen a dos personas que fueron arrestadas el sábado temprano.
El enfrentamiento cerró una parte de la I-95 durante gran parte de la mañana, lo que provocó importantes problemas de tráfico durante el fin de semana festivo del 4 de julio.
Las autoridades dijeron que la interestatal en dirección sur reabrió, pero los carriles en dirección norte permanecen cerrados.
En Massachusetts, la Interestatal 95 va desde la línea de Rhode Island, alrededor
de Boston hasta la línea de New Hampshire. Wakefield está justo al este de donde la Interestatal 95 y la 93 se encuentran al norte de Boston.
El enfrentamiento comenzó alrededor de las 2 am cuando la policía notó que dos autos se detuvieron en la I-95 con las luces de emergencia encendidas después de que aparentemente se habían quedado sin combustible, dijeron las autoridades en una conferencia de prensa el sábado.
Entre ocho y 10 hombres estaban vestidos con ropa de estilo militar con armas largas y pistolas, dijo el coronel de la Policía Estatal de Massachusetts, Christopher Mason. Añadió que se dirigían a Maine desde Rhode Island para “entrenar”.
Los hombres se negaron a dejar las armas o cumplir con las órdenes de las autoridades, alegando ser de un grupo “que no reconoce nuestras leyes” antes de salir a una zona boscosa, dijo la policía.
La policía dijo que utilizó negociadores para interactuar con los otros sospechosos.
Mason dijo que el “líder autoproclamado” del grupo quería que se supiera que no están en contra del gobierno.
“Creo que la investigación que sigue a esta interacción nos proporcionará más información sobre cuál es su motivación, cuál es su ideología”, dijo Mason.
En un video publicado en las redes sociales el sábado por la mañana, un hombre que no dio su nombre, pero dijo que era de un grupo llamado Rise of the Moors, transmitido desde la Interestatal 95 en Wakefield cerca de la salida 57.
“No somos contrarios al gobierno. No somos anti-policías, no somos ciudadanos soberanos, no somos extremistas de identidad negra ”, dijo el hombre que parecía estar usando equipo de estilo militar. “Como se especificó varias veces a la policía, estamos cumpliendo con las leyes de viaje pacífico de los Estados Unidos”.
El sitio web del grupo dice que son “estadounidenses moros dedicados a educar a nuevos moros e influir en nuestros ancianos”.
Mason dijo que no tenía conocimiento del grupo, pero que no era inusual que la policía estatal se encontrara con personas que tienen una “ideología ciudadana soberana”, aunque no sabía si las personas involucradas en el enfrentamiento de Wakefield eran parte de eso.
“Entrenamos para esos encuentros”, dijo Mason. “Comprendemos mucho, supongo, la filosofía que subyace a esa mentalidad”.
Se ha pedido a los residentes de Wakefield y Reading cerca de donde se está produciendo el enfrentamiento que se refugien en el lugar.
La policía de Wakefield dijo en su declaración que no se habían hecho amenazas, pero que se consideraba que los hombres estaban armados y eran peligrosos.
State Police said 11 suspects have been arrested during a Saturday morning standoff between officers and a group of armed men on Interstate 95 in Wakefield that began after a trooper stopped to assist two vehicles in the highway’s breakdown lane.
Police had announced two arrests during a press conference just after 8 a.m. Nine more arrests were reported at about 10:30 a.m.
During a subsequent sweep of two vehicles on the highway, police found and arrested the other two suspects, State Police reported about a half-hour later.
Law enforcement established a “hard perimeter” surrounding them, and police negotiated with the men, State Police Colonel Christopher Mason said during the press conference.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to resolve this peacefully,” Mason said earlier in the morning. “Time is our ally in this, and we will certainly use that.”
Mason said the men, who were armed with long guns and handguns and dressed in tactical gear, told the trooper they were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for “training.”
Asked what the group’s demands were, Mason said, “I think that’s something the negotiators are talking about with them as we speak.”
The incident began unfolding at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday when a state trooper stopped to assist two vehicles in the breakdown lane and encountered eight to 10 men in military-style gear. They were in the process of refueling their vehicles, Mason said.
Some had long rifles, he said. “Some had sidearms, pistols. Some had a combination of both,” Mason said.
The trooper requested their “driver’s license status” and asked them to produce gun licenses. They indicated they did not have them or did not have them with them, Mason said.
The trooper called for backup, and State Police and local police responded.
Negotiators talked to the group’s members, some of whom have remained near the vehicles, while others have gone into the woods, Mason said. The two men arrested were found in the woods, he said, and one of them was armed.
“Our negotiators are in contact with the individuals and the self-professed leader wants it very much known that their ideology is not anti-government,” Mason said at the morning press conference. “I think the investigation that follows from this interaction will provide us more insight into what their motivation, what their ideology is.”
He applauded the lone trooper’s approach to the situation, saying he had reviewed some of his body camera footage.
“I have to applaud the actions of the trooper — very patient, very understanding with them, very adept at de-escalation. And so I’m confident that that mindset and methodology will permeate the entire negotiation that we have with these individuals, and we’ll be able to successfully resolve this. And we look forward to doing that,” he said.
North and south lanes on I-95 were shut down between Lynnfield and Stoneham, and officials urged travelers to avoid the area.
Residents in the areas of Parker Road, Elm Street, and North Avenue in Wakefield were advised to shelter in place. Additionally, residents in the area of Ash Street and Parker Road in Reading were asked to shelter in place. Stoneham residents were not being asked to shelter in place, but were advised to use caution and avoid areas near I-95.
The shelter-in-place alerts have since been lifted and the roads have reopened.
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