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DA: Police rescue 2 women in Hopedale, shoot knife-wielding man

HOPEDALE, Mass. — Police shot a man with a knife and rescued two women from a Larkin Lane home on Friday night, authorities said.

The suspect, identified as Harvey Bennett Hubbard, 61, of 16 Larkin Lane, was shot twice in the abdomen during the incident, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said in a statement. A SWAT team responded to the scene.

Hubbard was listed in stable condition at the UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester.

The women, who had barricaded themselves in a second story bedroom, climbed out a window and down a Hopedale Fire Department ladder. They were not injured.

Neighbors said the street was packed with officers and SWAT teams.

"That’s wild that a man was shot right in this house, he lives next to people we know, friends of ours," said Sarah Chiarello.

Police responded to the home shortly before 9 p.m. after receiving reports of an intoxicated man armed with a knife making threats to harm himself, Early said.

When officers arrived, they found Hubbard, who was visibly distraught and threatening to stab the officers. He had barricaded himself inside the home and kept the two women locked in a bedroom upstairs.

"We saw the SWAT truck pull up and obviously this is Hopedale. This doesn’t happen a lot, like, we were fascinated by it, like, Hopedale! Why are there cops here? Like it was just a crazy situation," Chiarello said.

The Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Swat Team and Massachusetts State Police K9 were called to assist.

After negotiation attempts broke down, police entered the home and fired two rounds into the bedroom, striking Hubbard in the abdomen.

"You think you know everything in this town and then you find out that could be happening behind closed doors. It's like, 'Wow.' It's a shocker to the town," said Meghan Holt.

The incident remains under investigation.