Team Effort in Response to Shipyard Incident Praised

Pharaoh L. Yahtues, 37, of Hingham, was arrested and charged with armed assault to murder, discharging an explosive, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, disturbing the peace, and possession of theft detection removal device. ** Photo provided by Cohasset Police Department

by Carol Meyer

​Hingham residents are joining Police Chief Glenn Olsson in praising the effective community-wide response to Saturday's incident at the Avalon apartments in the Hingham Shipyard, where a Hingham man was arrested after barricading himself in his apartment and shooting at SWAT officers following a Hingham Police response to a report of a disturbance in one of the units.
The man eventually gave himself up after more than three hours of negotiations and was arrested without further incident, according to police reports. 
"Over the years we have trained a lot on how to respond to situations like this and that was evident today," Olsson said. "I'm proud of the whole operation and the successful outcome."

Among the responders were Hingham Police officers, the School Department,  the Hingham Fire Department, mutual aid from surrounding towns, and the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (Metro-Lec) SWAT team, which includes Hingham Police Officers Jeffrey Kilroy, Michael Gervasi, and James Brady, who is in training. The DPW set up barricades and cones to close off the area.
School administrators -- including Supt. of Schools Paul Austin, Director of Business and Support Services John Ferris, and Foster Principal and Vice Principal Jennifer Newell --  really stepped up to the plate when they heard about the incident, providing buses to help evacuate the residents in the surrounding area and opening up nearby Foster School as one of the evacuation sites. The other locations were the Avalon community room and the intermodal transportation center (commuter boat terminal) at the Shipyard.

A group of citizens set up a canteen truck and supplied food and drink while local businesses donated 15 pizzas after the Hingham Police Department ordered the food for the evacuees.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this amazing and successful team effort.