Police: Motorists Thought Red Sox Fan Was Waving Guns

A Portsmouth man who wanted to share his joy about the Red Sox winning the World Series on Tuesday afternoon on the Woodbury Avenue Route One Bypass Bridge was greeted with a full police response instead.

The reason was the passing motorists who saw the man on top of the bridge thought he was waving two guns, according to Portsmouth Police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin.

The Portsmouth man, whom Goodwin would not identify, was wearing black leather gloves and pointing his fingers to signify the Red Sox are number one, Goodwin said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Goodwin said eight police officers and several police cruisers rushed to the scene on Tuesday afternoon around 1:30. The nearby New Franklin School went into lockdown, he said.

Goodwin said they found the man about 800 yards from the bypass bridge near the intersection of Maplewood and Woodbury avenues. They asked him to demonstrate what he was doing. Police determined the man did not do anything wrong and no charges were filed.

"Ultimately, we were able to relax and there was no harm, no foul," Goodwin said.