Man arrested after shooting at police

Jun 28, 2020

On the afternoon of June 26, police responded to a report of a trespasser who allegedly shot at them.

At about 1:35 p.m. Officers Aaron Pacheco and Christopher Corner responded to County Road Recycling for a reported male trespasser. They were initially unable to find the man.

While the officers were speaking with the people who made the complaint, the officers heard three gunshots.

They realized they were being fired at, and headed toward the sound, locating a man on Reed Road carrying a rifle.

Pacheco got out of the cruiser and ordered the man to put his rifle down on the ground. As the man refused, Pacheco drew his own weapon and began to approach the man, repeating the command. The man began to walk towards a camper, still carrying the weapon. Corner joined Pacheco.

Eventually, the man put his gun down just inside the door of his camper. 

The officers arrested the man, Gregory W. Schroth, 40, for four counts of assault with intent to murder, possession of firearm without a FID card, possession of ammunition without a FID card, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.

Through a brief search, the officers also located a 500 round box of .22 caliber ammunition. They also secured the rifle.

Schroth is being held on $50,000 bail and will be arraigned at the Wareham District Court on Monday.

No one was injured in the course of the incident.

“We had a very serious situation where two civilians and two police officers were in grave danger. The positive outcome of this incident is the result of a disciplined and professional response by two of Wareham’s finest officers,” said Chief John Walcek. “Aaron and Chris did an outstanding job and I am very proud of them.”