A masked man brandished a gun at a U.S. mail carrier Tuesday morning and fled, later escaping police, officials said.
He remains at large, and the subject of a large search involving a SWAT team, police dogs and drones, according to Tewksbury police. A gun, believed to be the man's, has been found.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
The letter carrier was not robbed or hurt, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is helping to investigate the incident.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our >News Headlines newsletter.
The person being sought, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, was wearing a mask and a dark-colored sweatshirt, according to Tewksbury police, who shared alerts in the area amid their dragnet.
The incident began at the corner of Main and Shawsheen streets about 11:04 a.m., according to Tewksbury police and the Postal Inspection Service. The letter carrier noticed someone pull up to their vehicle and pull what appeared to be a gun at them. They were able to drive away safely.
Soon afterward, officers spotted a speeding vehicle on Whipple Road, but the driver bailed out when it reached the area of Tomahawk Drive, police said.
Groups of armed police officers and K-9 units were seen searching street by street. The gun was found behind a home on Grasshopper Lane, police said, and the search included Nightengale Lane, where a resident said they spotted the man.
"We have deployed every asset at our disposal to find this individual, including a door to door search in the area he was last seen," Police Chief Ryan Columbus said in a statement. "However he has not been located at this time. The suspect's motives are part of an ongoing investigation."
Police initially called the incident a case of road rage, but they later said that's no longer believed to be the case.
In a reverse 911 message to Tewksbury residents Tuesday evening, police said the man may have left the area in a rideshare. The search for him is ongoing.
