Middleboro Shooting Suspect Captured After Shots Fired At SUV At MassDOT Facility

MIDDLEBORO (CBS) - A man wanted for firing gunshots at a public works depot in Middleboro Friday morning was captured after a massive search that lasted more than two hours. Police later identified him as Raymond Gibson, a 55-year-old from Falmouth.

Middleboro Police said Gibson went to the MassDOT public works depot on 201 West Grove Street, which is also Route 28, just after 9 a.m. and fired four-to-five shots outside the facility and hit an SUV. He then ran off into the woods nearby. No one was hurt.

Police Chief Joseph Perkins said there's a large apartment complex with 240 units in it nearby, so they set up a perimeter around it.

Sean Stevens and his co-workers heard several gun shots and saw the man accused of pulling the trigger run into the woods.

"He kind of seen us, we got a little nervous we closed all the doors and everything just in case," Stevens said. "They saw him run across the apartment complex entrance and as he was running across, he was putting the revolver back in his bag."

Officers asked everyone to stay away from the West Grove Street area and anyone living on Evergreen Drive to "shelter in place" as heavily armed tactical units patrolled the neighborhood. Route 28 was closed between Anderson Avenue and West Street for the search.

"Obviously it's a concern for all the officers that are out standing on the perimeter, but they stood the perimeter, kept the community safe and apprehended the individual," Perkins said.

An officer spotted Gibson laying in the woods around 11:30 a.m. and he was "arrested peacefully," according to police. A .357 revolver was found nearby. Police said the gun was registered in his name and he had a valid license to carry. That license has been suspended by Falmouth police pending further review.

He's charged with disturbing the peace, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, discharging a firearm near a highway and two counts of malicious destruction to a vehicle. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Friday in Wareham District Court.

"We're extremely thankful that no one was injured in this incident," Perkins said in a statement. "This was not an easy response given the heavy rain from the storm and it was great work by our officer who spotted the suspect in the woods, leading to his arrest."