3 Dead In Manchester, New Hampshire Hotel Room After 14-Hour Standoff
MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) – Three people died overnight at a Manchester, New Hampshire hotel during the course of a lengthy armed standoff. The incident lasted more than 14 hours.
Two Drug Enforcement Administration officers and one Manchester Police officer at Quality Inn on John Devine Drive near the airport around 7:30 p.m. The officers were at the hotel for a wanted check on 51-year-old Stephen Marshall of Manchester and another man.
When officers approached the building, they say Marshall broke the window of a first-floor room from the inside. Marshall allegedly jumped out the window holding a semi-automatic gun and engaged the officers. Marshall of Manchester started shooting at officers at the back of the hotel and was wounded.
Marshall, who has a lengthy criminal history including multiple drug arrests, was shot during the exchange and later died at Elliot Hospital.
A man and a woman people remained inside the hotel room. The hotel was evacuated and a standoff began. Throughout the course of the next several hours, at least one person fired shots out the shattered window at police.
Just after 10 a.m., Nashua Police officers were able to make entry to the first-floor hotel room. That is where they found two people dead. The identities of those two people were not yet released.
"It's disheartening that we have to face incidents like what we had to deal with today," said Manchester Police Chief Carlo Capano. "When you think about over a nine hour period of officers being shot at as much as they were, and how amazing it is that none of our officers were shot, we're truly blessed that none of those officers were hurt today."
A portion of the incident was captured on video. New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said the investigation at the hotel will continue into the weekend.
"The crime scene at the Quality Inn is complex and it is expected to take several days to process," he said.
The names of the officer and the agent were not made public. The Manchester officer has been placed on administrative leave, something investigators said is a standard part of the investigation.
South Willow Street was closed between Exit 1 north to Weston Road, but reopened shortly after the standoff ended.
