A Rhode Island man wanted on charges related to possessing high-capacity firearm magazines was shot by Vermont State Police in Burke, Vt., Sunday night.
Brenden Sackal, 30, of Hopkinton was in critical condition with non-life threatening injuries at a hospital in New Hampshire on Monday afternoon, according to Vermont State Police.
Hopkinton Police Chief Mark Carrier said the events that led to the shooting began Friday when neighbors called the police after finding a bullet they speculated had been fired from Sackal’s porch lodged in a bedroom air conditioning unit.
Carrier said he and a detective found spent shell casings of at least two different calibers around the porch.
Sackal had previously been denied an application to purchase a gun under the Rhode Island law that allows local police departments to review firearm applications, Carrier said. According to Carrier, the previous Hopkinton police chief had reviewed Sackal’s medical records and found Sackal had received “extensive mental health treatment.” Police also said they had had more than two dozen prior contacts with Sackal.
“He was not granted permission to purchase a firearm,” Carrier said. “So when I discovered he had access to a firearm, I got a pit in my stomach saying, ‘Oh boy.’”
Police obtained a search warrant for Sackal’s residence. Inside, they found multiple weapons, high-capacity magazines with ammunition loaded, a bullet-proof vest and ballistic helmet, and a radio capable of monitoring police frequencies, Carrier said.
Hopkinton police suspected that Sackal was near a cabin in New Hampshire, so they alerted local police, as well as the state police in New Hampshire and Vermont, and U.S. Border Patrol.
Border Patrol agents first pulled Sackal over near Pittsburg, New Hampshire, according to Vermont State Police. After briefly pulling over, Sackal drove away and led authorities on a chase into Vermont.
Eventually, Sackal confronted the officers attempting to stop him, police said. Vermont State Police say he fired at the officers, and two troopers returned fire and injured him.
Charges against Sackal in Vermont are pending and the Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit is investigating the incident, as it does all shootings by law enforcement in the state, VSP said. A call to a phone number connected to Sackal was unreturned on Monday.
Hopkinton Police Chief Mark Carrier said his department had responded to more than 30 calls involving Sackal over the last three years, and he’s glad no one else appeared to be injured in the chase.
“He was preparing for something and there’s no doubt I think we saved some people by serving that search warrant,” Carrier said. “I credit the Vermont State Police for taking him into custody without getting killed, because they had one hell of a firefight when he got out of his truck.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Vermont Public’s Liam Elder-Connors contributed to this story.
