Armed standoff in Mansfield ends peacefully after 4 hours of crisis negotiations

MANSFIELD, Mass. (WLNE) — The Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Emergency Communications Center was activated Tuesday night after a standoff between a man with a gun and emergency responders.

According to authorities, at approximately 3:50 p.m., the SEMRECC received a 911 call from a distraught parent reporting that her son was under the influence, armed and at a local hotel.

Police said the callers son was threatening to harm himself or law enforcement if anyone tried to intervene at the Fairfield Inn at 50 Reservoir St.

This is a photo of police and SWAT standing outside a hotel on Reservoir Street in Mansfield responding to an incident. (WLNE)

Mansfield officers were dispatched to the scene and began evacuating the hotel and containing the area while staying in touch with the parent.

The Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council was also activated and brought in the Crisis Negotiators Team and a mental health clinician.

Once the scene was secure, authorities spent four hours getting in contact with the man and engaging him in meaningful conversation.

This is a photo of a Mansfield Emergency Management tent outside a hotel on Reservoir Street. (WLNE)

Just after 8:30 p.m., the man agreed to accept help and was peacefully transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Zach Alessi, a guest staying at the hotel, told ABC 6 News that he was told he needed to evacuate, but didn’t know why.

“We got down to the bottom of the elevator, opened the elevator and took a left into the lobby and I kind of stopped for a minute –I looked up and there were eight or nine SWAT people, or police officers just standing there, kind of staring at us with guns,” Alessi recalled.