Bullet in neighbor’s AC sets off multi-state police chase. Ends in 'one hell of a firefight'

A Hopkinton man was shot by Vermont state troopers Sunday after leading police on a chase through two states and firing at troopers, the Vermont State Police said.

Brenden Sackal, 30, of 524 Spring Street, was listed in critical condition with non-life-threatening injuries Monday afternoon at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

The incident unfolded after law enforcers in northern New Hampshire and Vermont received word from the Hopkinton police that Sackal was believed to be traveling in the area and was wanted for possessing illegal high-capacity firearm magazines.

Hopkinton police had executed a search warrant at Sackal's home Friday but couldn't find him, according to the Vermont State Police.

Hopkinton Police Chief Mark Carrier said he was alarmed by what officers found in Sackal's home – several guns, ammunition, high-capacity magazines, a heavy-duty Kevlar vest and a Kevlar helmet – so Hopkinton police immediately sought an arrest warrant and told authorities in northern New England when they learned he may have headed there.

Bullet lodged inside neighbor's bedroom prompts house search

Hopkinton police had applied for a warrant to search Sackal's house Friday after a bullet was discovered lodged in an air-conditioner at a neighbor's house, Carrier said. The neighbor had previously contacted the police, on June 29, after hearing what they thought were gunshots or fireworks, according to Carrier. Investigating, the police went to Sackal's house, but the lights were out, and no one responded, according to Carrier.

On Friday, a repair person went to the neighbor's house to check the air-conditioning system, which wasn't working properly. The repair person found a bullet lodged in a mini-split air-conditioning unit inside a bedroom, Carrier said. The bullet had penetrated the siding and would have traveled into the bedroom if it hadn't been stopped by a metal piece in the unit, Carrier said.

Responding to the neighbor's call, Carrier and a detective went to Sackal's house. Although no one responded, they spotted an empty shell casing on the deck and could also see one on a kitchen table inside the house, Carrier said. They applied for a search warrant.

"What we found in the home was very alarming," Carrier said.

Three of the guns taken from the house were so-called ghost guns , Carrier said, which are untraceable because they don't have serial numbers. The police also found a stolen police radio and evidence Sackal was making guns and "stockpiling" ammunition, Carrier said.

On Sunday night, a U.S. Border Patrol agent saw the pickup truck Sackal was driving near Pittsburg, New Hampshire, and stopped him, the Vermont State Police said. After pulling over, Sackal drove away, and Border Patrol agents followed him through Stewartstown, New Hampshire, and eventually into Canaan, Vermont, the Vermont State Police said.

From Canaan, Sackal continued north on Vermont Route 114, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection used a tire-puncturing device on his truck because of their concerns that he might try to cross the border into Canada, the state police said.

RI man kept going even after police deflated tires

Sackal then went south at relatively slow speeds on Route 114 on flat tires and rims, followed by Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection and a deputy with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department.

Vermont state troopers got involved near Morgan and followed Sackal with their lights and sirens, the state police said. In Burke, troopers tried to stop Sackal’s truck, which collided with two Vermont State Police cruisers before coming to a stop on the shoulder and partly in the northbound lane of Route 114 near Pinkham Road in Burke , the Vermont State Police said.

Police return fire in rural Vermont: 'It was one hell of a firefight'

"Sackal exited his vehicle. There was an exchange of gunfire, which he started," Vermont State Police Maj. Dan Trudeau told reporters Monday. "Troopers followed. Sackal was injured."

No troopers or others were injured.

The Vermont State Police did not say how many shots were fired in the exchange or what type of weapon Sackal had.

"I think the Vermont State Police are downplaying the heroic efforts of those troopers," Carrier said.

"It's my understanding he came out hot," Carrier said. "It was one hell of a firefight."

Sackal was wearing a Kevlar helmet, and Carrier said the troopers are lucky to be alive.

Sackal was initially treated at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury, then transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Charges in Vermont against Sackal are pending, the Vermont State Police said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bullet in neighbor’s AC sets off multi-state police chase. Ends in 'one hell of a firefight'