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Man allegedly shoots woman, fires at police before barricading himself in Danvers trailer park

Joseph M. Hurley, 62, shot a woman in a Danvers trailer park Monday afternoon, police said. She fled to a neighbor's home and called authorities, who surrounded Hurley's trailer for hours.

Officers tape off the scene of a shooting at a trailer park on Route 1 in Danvers. Josh Reynolds/The Boston Globe

February 6, 2024

1 minute to read

Police flooded a trailer park in Danvers Monday afternoon after a woman was shot. A man — the suspected shooter — barricaded himself inside a trailer for hours and fired a gun at officers before being arrested, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and local police.

At about 12:07 p.m., authorities received a 911 call from a woman at 98 Newbury St., off Route 1. She told dispatchers that she had been shot multiple times and had fled into a neighbor’s trailer. Danvers Police officers, State Police troopers, and other tactical units closed Route 1 and surrounded both trailers.

The male suspect, 62-year-old Joseph M. Hurley, allegedly fired several rounds out of his window toward police as they approached.

Police safely extracted the injured woman from the other trailer. She was brought to Beverley Hospital and later taken to a Boston hospital via med-flight, officials said. There is no word on her condition.

The Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) was activated, and units from multiple different law enforcement agencies surrounded Hurley as he barricaded himself for about 2 hours.

At one point during the standoff, police broke Hurley’s window and flew a drone near it, WBZ reported.

Hurley was eventually taken into custody and transported to a hospital, officials said.

Hurley was charged with armed assault with intent to murder, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. He is set to be arraigned in Salem District Court on Tuesday.

Last April, court documents show that Hurley was charged with assault and battery on a family/household member. The charge was later dismissed after the alleged victim told the court that Hurley did not assault her and that she needed him at home to take care of her due to several medical conditions.