On Friday, June 12th, Mattew Parker (44 years old North Adams) will be arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court for an incident that occurred on Wednesday evening, June 10th, into the early morning of Thursday, June 11th. The Defendant is being arraigned for:
• Domestic Assault and Battery
• Assault with the Intent to Murder (3 counts)
• Carrying a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol (3 counts)
• Possession of a hi-capacity firearm (4 counts)
• Improper Storage of a hi-capacity firearm (2 counts)
• Improper Storage of a firearm (6 counts)
On June 10, 2026, at approximately 8:42 p.m., officers from the North Adams Police Department responded to 365 Houghton Street following a report of a domestic assault and battery. The reporting party stated that she and her husband had been involved in a physical altercation. She further advised that her husband was intoxicated, making suicidal statements about shooting himself, and had access to both a shotgun and a pistol.
Upon arrival, officers made contact with both the reporting party and the Defendant. During the encounter, the Defendant threatened to shoot responding officers before retreating into the residence and refusing to exit. Based on the information available at the time, officers believed the Defendant was armed.
To ensure public safety, officers established a secure perimeter around the residence and requested assistance from the Berkshire County Special Response Team (SRT) and North Adams Police Department Crisis Negotiators. The Brien Center was also contacted and promptly provided an emergency mental health clinician to assist with the incident.
Special Response Team personnel deployed drones to monitor the residence and provide aerial illumination. During the operation, officers observed the Defendant exit the residence carrying a rifle and point it at the drones. The Defendant subsequently pointed the rifle toward several officers positioned behind their cruisers. After officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, the Defendant returned inside the residence.
Trained crisis negotiators maintained communication with the Defendant for several hours in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation. At approximately 2:00 a.m., the Defendant ceased communication with negotiators. Drone operators later observed the Defendant unconscious in a recliner on the first floor of the residence, with a rifle and shotgun on the floor nearby. This was determined as the best time to make entry. Members of the Berkshire County SRT then executed a coordinated operation. Diversionary devices were deployed through a window while an entry team simultaneously entered the residence, secured the firearms, and took the Defendant into custody.
A search warrant was executed after the Defendant was in custody. North Adams Police seized 4 shotguns, 6 rifles, 2 handguns, and thousands or rounds of ammunition from the home.
During the operation, one SRT member sustained a minor injury related to a less-lethal bean bag deployment. The Defendant also sustained non-life threatening injuries during the arrest and was transported to Berkshire Medical Center for medical evaluation.
North Adams Chief of Police Mark Bailey stated, “We thank the community for its patience and cooperation throughout this incident, particularly residents in the affected area who complied with temporary shelter-in-place requests. The North Adams Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the agencies that provided mutual aid and assisted by handling calls for service during this incident. We are especially grateful to the Berkshire County Special Response Team for its professional and decisive response, the Brien Center for the rapid deployment of a mental health clinician, and our crisis negotiators whose efforts helped maintain dialogue and contributed significantly to the safe resolution of this incident.”