A State Police K9 team found a semi-automatic handgun Friday afternoon in Methuen woods following the arrests of two people witnessed fighting in the middle of street.
Police say they are working to confirm the gun was discarded by an 18-year-old Townsend man, who was arrested by a Methuen police officer and charged with domestic assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer and disorderly conduct. The man was not identified because of, as WHAV News has complained, an ill-conceived state law that serves to protect perpetrators while it purports to protect victims’ privacy.
A 22-year-old Fitchburg woman was also charged with assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. Her name was not released because she is a domestic violence victim.
State Police say the handgun was found between Lowell Street and the Merrimack River.
Police were dispatched just after noon Friday to Lowell Street, Route 110, in Methuen when a driver reported a man and woman were physically fighting in the middle of the street after leaving a 2007 Honda Civic near the side of the road.
A State Police Trooper assigned to the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section asked the duo what happened, but reported neither was cooperative. The trooper was assaulted by the two, who then fled into adjacent woods. Before the man fled, the trooper detected a hard object inside the suspect’s jacket consistent with a firearm. A witness later reported seeing the man throw an object into the Merrimack River, which flows behind the wooded area adjacent to Lowell Street.
The initial Trooper on scene sustained a shoulder injury during the incident and was examined and released from Lawrence General Hospital.