A person was arrested after shooting at Boston firefighters trying to put out a blaze at a building in Mattapan Saturday morning, officials said, leading to a long standoff as the fire burned.
The suspected shooter was eventually taken into custody in another part of the Fairlawn Estates apartment complex, allowing the blaze to be put out, officials said. No one else was hurt, though residents of the building were evacuated while the standoff dragged on.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called the situation a case of first responders keeping each other safe, along with the broader public.
"They handled it with the utmost professionalism, as always," she said.
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A SWAT team was called to a building on Fairlawn Avenue for a report of a person shooting at firefighters, police said. The fire on Fairlawn Avenue was reported about 11:35 a.m., police said.
"We couldn't fight that fire until police actually controlled that scene," Deputy Chief Michael Doherty said.
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Firefighters were gathered outside several buildings in the apartment complex where the incident was reported, and police were seen going in and out of a building. An emergency siren could be heard at the scene.
A person was seen being wheeled away from the scene on a stretcher, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said later that the suspected gunman hurt himself, apparently in a fall. A gun was also recovered at the scene.
The suspected gunman hasn't been identified.
Smoke could still be seen pouring from a building around 1:40 p.m., and the fire was only knocked down a few minutes before the news conference began about 2:10 p.m., according to Doherty. The fire was on the first floor of the building and extended to the second and third floors.
Drones were used to help locate the suspected shooter, Cox said, who commended firefighters for continuing to work under the difficult circumstances, as well as the large number of officers who responded to the scene.
Residents waiting outside the building had said there was another incident overnight involving gunshots, and Cox confirmed that it was part of the investigation, and that no one was hurt at that time.
Wu thanked residents "for their patience and their understanding," especially on a holiday weekend, as first responders dealt with the threats.
