Apparent Murder-Suicide Forces NH Neighborhood To Evacuate
NASHUA, N.H. (CBS) -- A New Hampshire neighborhood was evacuated overnight as a SWAT Team responded to an apparent murder-suicide involving a man and his longtime girlfriend.
Attorney General Joseph Foster said the body of an adult woman was found on the Baldwin Street Bridge at about 11 p.m. on Saturday. Shortly after, police responded to a home at 1 Hutchinson St., where a man reported to be alone inside with multiple firearms refused to come out.
Nearby homes were evacuated while other residents were told to stay inside.
On Sunday morning, the SWAT team entered the home and found the man dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. The attorney general said no officers fired their weapons during the incident.
"Based on the investigation so far, it appears that the deceased male killed the female who was discovered on the Baldwin Street Bridge and then killed himself," the attorney general said in a statement.
Officials told WBZ-TV's Julie Loncich that the male homeowner killed his longtime girlfriend. The couple had been out with friends, and some of those friends returned to the Hutchinson Street home and asked where the female victim was, the attorney general's office said.
Friends became suspicious and called police when the man threatened to kill himself. The couple wasn't married, but had been together for at least 20 years and had adult children from previous relationships, officials said.
Neighbor Rickie Duncan said he gathered his family and headed to the basement when he saw the SWAT Team outside. He described the man and woman as very friendly.
"These two people – the farthest thing you'd think they're be a shootout in the middle of the night," Duncan said. "Real nice, quiet people. Goes to show you never know."
Witnesses described a chaotic scene.
"Guys in the woods with rifles, it was a madhouse," witness Brian Bowles said. "It is so sad."
The names of the man and woman have not yet been released and police are investigating the incident.
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