Crime

Cohasset man arrested after barricading himself in home with children, threatening police with chainsaw

Both children are younger than five, the Cohasset police chief said.

By Susannah Sudborough

updated on December 18, 2022

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 10

A man was arrested Sunday night after allegedly barricading himself inside a Cohasset home with two young children and, earlier in the day, trying to cut through the door of the town’s police station with a chainsaw.

Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said during a news conference Sunday evening that around 2:30 p.m. a man who was known to the police department entered the lobby of the police station with a gas chainsaw.

The man, who has not been identified, then allegedly tried to cut through the security door of the police station with the chainsaw, the police chief said.

At the time there was an attendant at the front desk, Quigley said, but she was able to barricade herself and call officers for help.

The man then fled the scene and was tracked back to his home on Cushing Road. He barricaded himself inside with two children under the age of five, the police chief said. It is unclear whether the suspect is the father of these children.

After negotiating with the suspect for hours, police arrested the man, Quigley said.

“The children are safe. It’s the best possible outcome we could hope for,” he said.

The suspect was taken to South Shore Hospital.

Cohasset police previously issued a shelter-in-place for anyone living within a quarter mile of Norfolk Road and Cushing Road at 3:40 p.m.