Salem standoff settled

SALEM – A tense three and a half-hour standoff with an armed suspect on Bridge Street came to a peaceful ending Monday.According to a press release from the Salem Police Department, two officers went to 92 Bridge St. to serve the resident, 37-year-old Paul Maestranzi, with a court order. Maestranzi allegedly slammed his door and yelled at the officers that he was not going with them.Maestranzi allegedly barricaded himself inside. As additional officers were being dispatched, police heard a noise that they thought was a gunshot from inside the apartment.It didn’t take long before a full-scale North Eastern Mass. Law Enforcement Council SWAT team arrived and surrounded the building. Traffic on Bridge Street was detoured and neighboring homes, businesses and the Carlton Elementary School were evacuated.During the standoff, Maestranzi allegedly waved a knife out the window and yelled at police. A trained negotiator was called in but Maestranzi refused to answer his phone when it was called numerous times, police said.At about 7:05 p.m., a SWAT member opened the suspect’s door and saw that he was unarmed. Police then rushed Maestranzi and took him into custody.He was taken to North Shore Medical Center in Salem for an evaluation. As of press time Maestranzi was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and possession of a class D drug. The matter is under investigation.