I-90

Mass. Police Search for Conn. Shooting Suspect, Closing Part of Turnpike

People in Russell and Blandford, Massachusetts, were "asked to take caution and call 911 if they see suspicious activity," state police tweeted

A man suspected in a West Hartford, Connecticut, shooting was the subject of a police search in western Massachusetts that closed down part of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Massachusetts State Police and local police were looking for 22-year-old Darnell Barnes, considered armed and dangerous, in Russell and Blandford, troopers said. Barnes allegedly shot someone multiple times early Friday morning.

"Residents asked to take caution and call 911 if they see suspicious activity," state police tweeted.

A car he'd been driving was found on the Massachusetts Turnpike, according to police. But he wasn't found in the area after hours of searching, and police cleared the scene, they said.

Westbound vehicles had been detoured off the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90, at exit 41 in Westfield, just east of the area being searched, due to police activity, according to the state Department of Transportation. Traffic was being re-routed to state Route 20.

The shooting that Barnes was wanted in was at a parking area on the University of Saint Joseph campus, NBC Connecticut reported. West Hartford police said a person wounded in the shooting was taken to a hospital, and another person was seriously hurt in a rollover car crash nearby that could be related to the shooting.

West Hartford police were calling Barnes a person of interest in the shooting.

Contact Us