HAVERHILL — Evacuated area residents were allowed to return to their Rosebud Avenue homes and nearby apartments after the state police bomb squad detonated an explosive “device” there Friday afternoon.
The neighborhood was evacuated after state troopers across eastern Massachusetts searched for and captured a man driving a tractor-trailer out of Haverhill on Friday morning.
The unidentified suspect was eventually pulled over on Interstate 495 in the Wrentham area and taken into custody, police said.
The driver had called his wife and said “I love you” and “goodbye” prior to being taken into custody around 10:20 a.m. by troopers, according to police radio transmissions.
Paperwork mandating immediate mental health treatment for the man was being sought by a clinician working with Haverhill police, troopers said.
The search and capture in Wrentham was connected to the explosives investigation at 5 Rosebud Ave., Haverhill.
Police had Rosebud Avenue blocked all day Friday. and residents living nearby in Churchill Court apartment complexes said they were evacuated from their homes at 9:30 a.m.
“In an abundance of caution, nearby residents were evacuated while bomb squad technicians assessed potential hazards. Based on their assessments using robotic platforms and other tools, technicians determined that the device posed a significant danger and could not safely be transported. They conducted a controlled detonation to render it safe and disposed of additional energetic material found at the scene. No injuries have been reported,” said Jake Wark, spokesperson for State Fire Marshal Jon Davine.
Wark issued the statement on behalf of Davine, Haverhill Police Chief Robert Pistone and Haverhill Fire Chief Robert O’Brien.
The truck driver, a man in his 60s who was living in the home, was transported to a hospital Friday morning. Haverhill Police will pursue criminal charges in connection with the device, Wark said.
Friday morning, state police issued “Be On The Lookout” alerts regarding the man, who was possibly armed with a 9mm handgun in a shoulder holster.
The suspect was first believed to be driving a motorcycle and then the truck on his daily delivery route, police said.
Troopers searched on the highway as well as by air in a state helicopter.
Staff reporter Mike Labella contributed to this story.
Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.
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