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Reported by us | New Bedford

Officers fired at on Blackmer Street in New Bedford, no officers hurt, police say; residence contained

No police officers were injured, the department said, and the incident remained active and ongoing. Police are asking people to avoid the area of Blackmer Street.

By the SC360 Breaking and Public Safety Desk | Published Nov. 12, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 12, 2026, 3:35 a.m. ET

Updated 3:28 a.m., Nov. 12: Police said early Thursday the suspect was found dead inside the residence. Read the latest.

Developing, updated 1:05 a.m., Nov. 12, 2026.

Police officers were fired at during the incident on Blackmer Street, and no officers were hurt, New Bedford police spokesperson Lt. Holly Huntoon told South Coast 360 in an email at 9:31 p.m. Wednesday. "At this time, the NBPD, along with several law enforcement agencies, have a Blackmer Street residence contained following an incident during which police officers were fired at," Huntoon wrote. "No police officers were injured." She said the incident remained active and ongoing and that police continued to ask people to avoid the area. Officers were still posted at South First and Blackmer streets shortly before midnight, police radio traffic shows.

As of 1:05 a.m. Thursday police had not announced an arrest, said whether anyone other than the officers was hurt or said the situation had ended, and the department had not posted an update since its request shortly before 8 p.m. that people avoid the area. New Bedford police radio has carried no further traffic about the Blackmer Street scene since about 12:10 a.m., when officers posted near the building were being relieved. South Coast 360 will update this story when police release more information.

Updated 11 p.m., Nov. 11: Route 18 at Potomska Street has reopened, a city emergency management unit told police dispatchers at about 10:56 p.m., according to New Bedford Police Department radio traffic. An officer radioed at about 10:40 p.m. that he would be at South First and Blackmer streets, the radio traffic shows.

Updated 10:35 p.m., Nov. 11: Fire crews that had been standing by nearby were released. A fire engine and a ladder truck that had been staged on Route 18 since about 8:25 p.m. were sent back at about 10:04 p.m., and the fire officer in charge of them radioed at about 10:25 p.m. that he was clear of the scene, New Bedford Fire Department radio traffic shows.

Updated 9:55 p.m., Nov. 11: WJAR (NBC 10) reported shortly before 9:50 p.m. that shots were fired at officers, that New Bedford police and other agencies had contained the Blackmer Street home, and that no injuries were reported.

Updated 9:30 p.m., Nov. 11: A WJAR (NBC 10) crew at the scene reported seeing police with rifles out, SWAT team members and officers evacuating nearby homes, the station said in a report last updated at 8:51 p.m. WJAR said police had not released more details.

Updated 8:45 p.m., Nov. 11: The New Bedford Police Department asked people to stay away. "There is a heavy police presence in the area of Blackmer Street," the department said in a post on its Facebook page shortly before 8 p.m. "Residents and motorists are asked to avoid the area and seek alternate routes while police activity is ongoing." The radio traffic did not say whether anyone was hurt.

Updated 8:25 p.m., Nov. 11: At about 8:07 p.m. an officer told the units at the scene that a SWAT team had arrived and would be going around relieving them, New Bedford Police Department radio traffic shows. At about 8:22 p.m. officers were told to keep people from coming past the police tape. The radio traffic did not say whether anyone was hurt.

Updated 8:15 p.m., Nov. 11: Police were still at the scene on Blackmer Street, and at about 8 p.m. an officer asked for officers to close Acushnet Avenue at Rivet Street, New Bedford Police Department radio traffic shows. The radio traffic did not say whether anyone was hurt.

New Bedford police surrounded a multi-apartment building on Blackmer Street in the city's South End Wednesday evening, and at about 7:16 p.m. an officer radioed, "We have shots fired again from the second floor," according to New Bedford Police Department radio traffic.

Officers converged on Blackmer Street near South Second Street at about 7:05 p.m., and a minute later the dispatcher cleared the department's main channel for the units at the scene and moved all other police traffic to a second channel, the radio traffic shows. At about 7:12 p.m. an officer told the dispatcher, "We have the multi-apartment building, but we have it completely surrounded," and medics were told to stage a couple of blocks away from Blackmer Street.

After the 7:16 p.m. report of shots fired, an officer asked at about 7:22 p.m. for a shield on the east side of the building. At about 7:28 p.m. an officer radioed that officers and state police believed they had evacuated all the other apartments, and at about 7:30 p.m. a captain told officers on the east side of the perimeter to step back and get out of the range of the building's windows.

At about 7:34 p.m. officers on the outer perimeter were told to put up tape and let no one in, and an officer said shields and negotiators were coming, the radio traffic shows. At about 7:35 p.m. an officer asked for a cruiser to shut down South First and Rivet streets, and at about 7:40 p.m. an officer radioed that emergency management was blocking off Route 18 at Rivet Street.

The radio traffic did not say whether anyone was hurt, and as of 1:05 a.m. Thursday police had not announced an arrest or said the scene was clear. South Coast 360 is asking the New Bedford Police Department for details, and we will update this story as police release more information.

What we know

What we do not know yet

Who fired, whether anyone other than the officers was hurt, what led police to the building and whether the situation has ended.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

That officers were fired at and that no officers were hurt comes from New Bedford police spokesperson Lt. Holly Huntoon's email to South Coast 360 at 9:31 p.m. What the WJAR crew saw is credited to WJAR (NBC 10). The request to avoid the area comes from the New Bedford Police Department's own Facebook post. Every other fact comes from recordings of New Bedford Police Department radio traffic on the public OpenMHz New Bedford Police channels 1 and 2, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, calls from 7:05:34 to 8:25 p.m., transcribed on the SC360 scanner, checked again on a second transcription model and reviewed by South Coast 360. A police response heard on the department's own radio runs at once as a developing story, attributed to that radio traffic, and is updated as police release more. The story names no one, gives no house number, describes no one inside the building and says nothing about injuries, which the radio did not describe. South Coast 360 is asking the New Bedford Police Department for details.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (13)

  1. New Bedford Police Department, Lt. Holly Huntoon, public information officer, email to South Coast 360 NewsEmail reply to South Coast 360's request, 9:31 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  2. New Bedford Fire Department radio traffic, crews staged on Route 18 and releasedPublic OpenMHz New Bedford Fire channel 1, calls at 8:23:28, 8:26:05, 8:50:46, 10:05:07 and 10:25:46 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026; the 10:25 call also heard on the Broadcastify New Bedford Police, Fire and EMS feed.
  3. WJAR (NBC 10), Heavy police presence on Blackmer Street in New BedfordWJAR report, first published 8:14 p.m. and updated 8:51 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026, and its home page summary seen about 9:49 p.m. (Officers fired at in New Bedford; police contain Blackmer Street residence); its crew at the scene.
  4. New Bedford Police Department, Facebook post asking people to avoid the area of Blackmer StreetOfficial post on the City of New Bedford Police Department Facebook page, about 7:52 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  5. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, officers at Blackmer Street and South Second StreetPublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 1. Call at 7:05:34 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  6. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, main channel cleared for the scenePublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 2. Call at 7:06:18 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  7. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, building surroundedPublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 1. Call at 7:12:38 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  8. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, medics to stage away from Blackmer StreetPublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 1. Call at 7:13:10 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  9. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, shots fired from the second floorPublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 1. Call at 7:16:33 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  10. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, shield asked for on the east sidePublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 1. Call at 7:22:47 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  11. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, other apartments evacuatedPublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 1. Call at 7:28:23 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  12. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, perimeter moved back from the windowsPublic OpenMHz recording, New Bedford Police channel 1. Call at 7:30:10 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.
  13. New Bedford Police Department radio traffic, perimeter taped, shields and negotiators, South First and Rivet streets, Route 18 and Acushnet Avenue closures, SWAT team arrivesPublic OpenMHz New Bedford Police channels 1 and 2. Calls at 7:34:00, 7:34:40, 7:35:40, 7:40:41, 8:00:32, 8:07:29, 8:22:46, 10:40:42 and 10:55:34 p.m. Nov. 11, 2026.

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