CNN Today

Wakefield Police Wrap Up Shooting Investigation

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The story continues to develop out of Wakefield, Massachusetts, another shooting at an office building. We will bring you up to date on the casualties and the search for the gunman.

LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: We are putting pieces of the puzzle together in order to tell the story. I assume the police are doing the same thing, because they have scheduled a news conference for when all the pieces get put into place.

In the meantime, we're going to call upon CNN's Bill Delaney, our Boston bureau chief, who's now in Wakefield.

Bill, what are you finding there?

BILL DELANEY, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Lou, yes, as you said, still some holes in the story, but let's tell you what we know. It was shortly after 11:00 this morning in the small town of Wakefield, Massachusetts, about half hour north of Boston, when violence erupted at in an Internet firm called Edgewater Technology. Now we are told, police say, there were multiple deaths, and one man has been taken into custody.

Now state police seem to have wrapped up their initial investigation here and plan to hold a press conference within 15 minute or half an hour. The medical examiner was here and has left. Ambulances that were on the scene for a time left. At least two have reportedly have returned. We are not clear why.

Now, Lou, this is not believed to be an ongoing situation. Police SWAT teams were here but have left. Now witnesses are telling local media there may have been a man on the loose for a while. As I said, one man presumably the suspect in this crime, has been arrested. Witnesses say he was taken away in a Wakefield town police cruiser on the floor.

Now Edgwater Technology is housed in the Harvard Mills office complex here, a former mill with apparently a very open plan in this building, a very accessible lobby under exposed beams. One consultant who was apparently visiting the firm here has told local media that he saw one body on the floor of the lobby. Police have now massed the front of the building.

Edgewater is an 8-year-old Internet company with offices in a number of states. Here in Wakefield is the corporate headquarters.

Lou, it's a terrible traumatic event on a very cold day here, the day after Christmas. Here in downtown Wakefield, in fact, though, a relatively normal scene. Police have cordoned off the Edgewater Technology complex, this Harvard Mills complex. But, in fact, traffic is moving, and from where I'm standing there seem to actually be -- most stores are open, people are coming and going despite this apparently very horrific event here the day after Christmas -- Lou.

WATERS: Bill, I just talked to a fellow who was the in the office above where the shooting took place and said that everyone huddled in the conference room and were visited by the Wakefield police and then escorted out of the area. And I assume this was just a short time after the shooting. Do you have any idea the circumstances surrounding the arrest of this suspect and whether there was any confrontation with? It seemed to go in a very orderly manner is the idea I'm getting from folks I'm talking with.

DELANEY: Lou, this is very much what we've been hearing from our initial discussions and our own investigations here just in the past several minutes since we've been here. There was apparently an extremely efficient police operation here in this small town of Wakefield that kept people safe and got them out of the building, people who have been interviewed on local media repeatedly saying that the police did quite an exceptional job here in this terrifying situation to protect people and to get them out of the building.

Many things still unfolding here, though, Lou, of course, and as I say we expect a press conference very shortly with some more details of just what happened here.

WATERS: This same fellow indicated that a number of people were held back in order to be interviewed by police. I don't know if those were the folks who were evacuated to the St. Joseph's Church nearby or not, but I assume police are doing their own interviewing of witnesses and putting the pieces of the puzzle together before they go before those microphones to tell us what happened this morning.

BUCKLEY: Yes, indeed, Lou. We've seen police in the behind across the street from this Harvard Mills complex. They are talking to people over there, undoubtedly trying to find out what these people saw or heard. although one eyewitness spoken to just in the past several minutes said that in the office building where he was, across the street from the Harvard Mills complex, they heard no gunshots. They did see the police, of course, swarm into the area and knew something was up. Apparently this gentleman had a scanner his office and immediately turned that on. And they did allude to a man on the loose for some time.

Police coming out of there their vehicles with guns drawn, a dramatic scene here late in the morning before noon, sometime after 11:00, but it does seem at this point, despite the horrific toll that it took, that it was over, Lou, in relatively short order. It did not turn into any kind of hostage situation.

And apparently, and I want to stress this, a man has been arrested. We don't know for sure that he was the perpetrator of this but it does seem like it was handled quickly and efficiently and was over relatively fast, which may account for the fact, somewhat a contradictory fact, that as I say we are right here in front of the complex where this happened but on the main avenue, just, oh, you know, 20 yards away, traffic is moving normally, and people are shopping, and I can see people in a pizza parlor just 50 yards away from here eating lunch. So a somewhat contradictory scene here. As the press and police have descended, the little town of Wakefield has continued a fairly normal day after Christmas.

WATERS: All right, Bill Delaney, our Boston bureau chief on the job in Wakefield. And we'll be checking back with you repeatedly. Bill Delaney, the story essentially looks to be over from the standpoint of maintaining control around that office complex. We're still waiting for that news conference from the Massachusetts State Police. We're expecting that momentarily, and when it happens we'll bring it to you live.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com