Three people are dead after a standoff with police at the Quality Inn on John E. Devine Drive in Manchester.
The incident began Wednesday night, when Manchester police and federal drug enforcement agents went to the Inn to arrest Stephen Marshall, of Manchester, and another man for drug-related charges.
According to Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati, Marshall exited the hotel through a first-floor window and began shooting at officers with a semi-automatic.
He says police “exchanged fire” with Marshall and that he was killed, though the exact reason for his death is still under investigation.
A SWAT team evacuated the building, but the other man barricaded himself in his hotel room with an adult woman.
After an overnight standoff, including gunfire from the room, officers entered it and found the two dead. Agati would not confirm whether the police shot at the barricaded victims.
He says about 20,000 square feet around the Quality Inn is still an active crime scene, and many questions remain.
“There are multiple gun shots that have been fired over a long time period. To be able to account for which shot goes where and when is going to be a long process,” he said.
Officials are conducting autopsies of the deceased and are waiting to release names until notifying families.
Mayor Joyce Craig praised the Manchester police, saying “The diligence, patience and professionalism they exhibit every day and especially over the last 24 hours is to be commended. I’m grateful no officers or bystanders were injured.”
(This post was updated Friday morning, and Friday afternoon.)
