Man in Jamaica Plain standoff lived, worked in the B&B where he died, DA says

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins says her office has started an investigation into the "complicated sequence of events" that started as "a domestic disturbance" at a bed and breakfast on Wyman Street and ended with a shootout, more than 20 out-of-towners huddling, some in their underwear, in their rooms and the man dead.

In a statement this afternoon, Rollins did not identify the man, but said he lived at Dar Sandler's Wyman Inn and "assisted with the day to day operations of the property."

Rollins did not say if the man died from a self-inflected gunshot wound or whether he died in an exchange of gunfire with police around 10:30 p.m. yesterday. She promised to release more information "when it is appropriate to do so."

Such investigations by the district attorney's office have long been standard whenever police officers discharge their guns.

Rollins said the incident began around 10 p.m. when police officers responded to 21 Wyman St. on a report of a domestic disturbance.

Police found the man outside, but he ran inside, then fired a shot at the officers. They retreated and called for reinforcements, which eventually included a SWAT unit, sharpshooters on a nearby roof, hostage negotiators and patrol officers from several other parts of the city.

Around 10:30 p.m., the man broke a window on an upper floor and shot at police again; this time, they fired back.

Meanwhile, the B&B's guests huddled in their rooms. Some texted police, wondering what to do; police told them to stay where they were but to try to barricade their doors. Around 11:10 p.m., a guest on the rear of the second floor called 911 to report he had found a gun and wrapped it in a towel. A police commander told him to open his window and toss it out - after first instructing officers what was about to happen and that the man was a guest, not the shooter. Police eventually found a second gun in the building.

Not long after, heavily armored SWAT officers began the slow room-to-room process of evacuating guests; around 11:25, two people from the first floor, followed ten minutes later by a couple hiding in the basement. A couple with two small children was led out from the second floor. In all, police led more than 20 people out, a number of them children.

As the guests were led out, they were brought to a T bus brought in to give them a place to stay and to eventually transport them to BPD headquarters on Tremont Street for interviews. Once there, police sought help from the Red Cross to get clothing - several of the guests had already retired for the night when the incident started and didn't have much on.

Rollins praised police for getting all the guests out successfully.