Saturday, March 4, 2006
Real VT: Standoff in Winooski
As a reporter for a weekly newspaper, I rarely cover breaking news, but this kerfuffle is happening just down the street from me, so I figured I'd blog it.
According to one of the camera guys from one of the local TV stations (I didn't talk to any of the police, so bear that in mind), a 59-year-old guy in the white house, last one before the convent, is holed up, drunk, with a bunch of weapons. He's been firing shots from his house, and now he's surrounded by cops, state troopers and the state trooper tactical team (a SWAT team, I guess). I ran into a few guys in full camo gear and riot-type helmets carrying what looked like high-powered rifles. Not the sort of people you usually run into in this part of Winooski.
I looked for some other mention of this drama on one of the TV station sites, but haven't seen anything yet. Did see a few of my neighbors milling about, trying to see what was going on. This is all happening two blocks or so from my hous e. Lots of people standing just inside their porch doors, talking on telephones, telling people about all the police cars. The camera guy said the police are hoping he comes out, but if not, they'll go in and get 'im. Right now, everybody's just waiting to see what happens. More when I know more.
UPDATE, 3/5/06: I found this link to a story about the incident on WCAX. Apparently, the guy surrendered peacefully yesterday morning. The story gets a few things wrong. Like, the standoff happened on St. Peter Street, not St. Francis (though it's across the street from St. Francis school and church), and though the people living there might have been longtime residents of Winooski, they had recently purchased that house. At least, that's what I understand from neighbors. I know the house was on the market recently. The guy is supposed to appear in court tomorrow (Monday).
The Burlington Free Press did carry a short story on the incident this morning, but it was buried in a "News Brief" section in the Vermont page. I don't think they had a reporter covering it. Well, it was big news in my neighborhood. But we're little old Winooski.
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