An 18-year-old man suspected of being involved in a shooting at Hampton Beach was taken into custody Tuesday night in Deerfield following a multi-agency police pursuit.
At around 8:30 p.m., officers responded to reports of gunfire in the Hampton Beach area, according to a press release from the Hampton Police Department.
When they arrived, officers found one person suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
New Hampshire State Police and other local law enforcement agencies quickly joined the response.
Authorities circulated a description of a vehicle believed to be connected to the suspect, who had fled the scene, and a short time later, officers with the Epping Police Department spotted the suspect vehicle traveling westbound on Route 101. Troopers and Epping officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to pull over, prompting a pursuit.
The suspect exited Route 101 at Exit 3, where Auburn police officers successfully deployed a tire deflation device, according to state police. Undeterred, the suspect continued driving onto Route 43 before finally stopping on South Road in Deerfield.
After coming to a stop, the suspect fled on foot into the nearby woods.
State police in a statement said law enforcement immediately established a perimeter and launched a search operation. Residents in the area were notified through the NH Alerts system and advised to shelter in place during the search.
An hour later, officers located the suspect and took him into custody. He was identified as Divaris Ojani Ruiz, 18, of Manchester.Â
A juvenile passenger in the vehicle was also detained at the scene.
The shelter-in-place order was lifted shortly afterward.
Hampton Police charged Ruiz with four counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and four counts of first-degree assault with a firearm.
State Police also charged Ruiz with reckless operation and disobeying a police officer in connection with the pursuit.
Ruiz appeared in court on Wednesday, where the judge ordered that he be held on preventive detention pending his next hearing in July.
Multiple agencies assisted in the pursuit and search, including the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing and officers from the Deerfield, Epping, Auburn and Candia police departments, as well as deputies from the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office.
Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com
