06 March 2024 , 17:48
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Schools have been ordered to shelter in place and homes have been evacuated as police come under fire from a gunman shooting from inside a home.
Heavily armed units have been seen at the scene where a suspect has barricaded themselves inside a home in Barnstable, Massachusetts, police have said. Schools and people within a mile radius have been ordered to shelter in place and homes have been evacuated.
It was reported that a suspect was holding a victim at knifepoint in the village of Hyannis, about 32 miles south of the US town of Plymouth.
Police and a huge SWAT team presence can be seen at the scene outside the home in footage shared online. The one mile shelter in place order has now been escalated to evacuating all homes in the area. Meanwhile, Barnstable School District has decide to place five schools under the shelter in place order.
Police report the person who made the call to them revealed the people inside the home had managed to escape - but the suspect remains inside.
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The schools under the shelter in place order are Barnstable High School, Barnstable Intermediate School, Hyannis West Elementary School, Enoch Cobb Early Learning Center, and Barnstable Community Innovation School.
SWAT teams have converged (WCVB)In an email, the school district said: "No one is permitted into our schools or to exit them, but school operations within the building will continue."
Police have reassured people that they believe there is no immediate threat to the schools
An armoured skid steer was seen being deployed by the Cape Cod SWAT team.
Police have said negotiations with the suspect, who has not been named, are ongoing.
An armoured skid steer being deployed by the Cape Cod SWAT team (WCVB)A spokesperson said: "Currently, negotiations with the suspect are ongoing, with the hope of a peaceful resolution in the near future."