As Franklin apartment building burned, man shot at police and was killed by SWAT team

An adult male was shot and killed by police after firing at officers and setting his Franklin apartment on fire early Monday, authorities said. 

The early morning standoff led to a shelter-in-place order in a portion of downtown.

The incident near Central and West Bow streets involved the New Hampshire State Police SWAT Team, which had been directed to the area for a report of a barricaded suspect following an armed disturbance.

Just before 10 p.m., Franklin police officers responded to an emergency call from an apartment at 32 West Bow Street in Franklin. A woman was inside her apartment when her adult male neighbor across the hall tried to smash through her front door, police said.

She was unhurt but officers responding to the scene saw that her door had been shot at with a firearm.

Once she was evacuated from the building, officers said they heard gunshots coming from the other apartment and called in the SWAT team for backup.

Around 2:30 a.m., officers saw black smoke coming from the windows and eaves of the building and by 3 a.m. flames were visible inside the building.

At 3:01 a.m., the man shot at police, who returned fire, shooting and killing him. 

“Life-saving measures were later attempted, but the severity of the fire prevented officers from being able to get to the male to provide immediate medical aid,” a statement from the Attorney General’s Office said.

Two members of the SWAT team discharged their weapons and no police officers were injured.

Once the man was found dead at the scene, the shelter-in-place order was lifted.

The man’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. An autopsy will be scheduled by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. No law enforcement officers were injured and there is no threat to the public, police said.

The names of the officers involved in the incident are being withheld pending the conclusion of formal interviews.

The four-unit apartment building was badly damaged by the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

“At this time, there are no apparent indications that the fire was caused by any law enforcement action,” authorities said.