Middleborough Police Standoff: Fugitive Dies

MIDDLEBOROUGH, MA — An hours-long standoff that saw a Middleborough man fire at officers ended with the man dead, officials said Wednesday evening. John Mann, 38, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Middleborough police Chief Joseph Perkins and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz. Police found Mann's body when they breached the Wareham Street home he had been held up in since before 10 a.m.

Middleborough officers responded to 469 Wareham Street around 9:30 a.m. to help Plymouth County authorities execute an arrest warrant. Mann allegedly fired one round at a K-9 officer who was at the back of the home. No one was injured, and police retreated.

Mann barricaded himself inside as several law enforcement agencies, including a SWAT team, responded. Police say they were unsuccessful on several attempts to contact Mann.

Police found a rifle and two handguns inside the home.

The neighborhood around Wareham was under a shelter-in-place during the ordeal. Some roads, including an exit off I-495, were closed for hours.

"We're just trying to end this peacefully," Perkins said during an afternoon news conference.

Mann's Wareham Street home is the only residence in a commercial part of town near I-495.

• This story will be updated.

This is the approximate location of the incident:

Wednesday's incident comes a month after the shooting death of a Cape Cod police officer in similar circumstances. Yarmouth police Officer Sean Gannon was shot and killed trying to locate a career criminal on an arrest warrant.

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