Fort Drum soldier gets intervention at Massachusetts church

Soldier seeks spiritual guidance at Boxford church
WHDH.com
Reported by: Jonathan Hall
September 19, 2013

BOXFORD, Mass. (WHDH) -- Boxford police say a soldier on his way home to Maine from Fort Drum in New York, got off the highway and approached a church Tuesday morning looking for a bathroom and spiritual support. “He saw a church was having a difficult time and wanted to speak with someone about his problems,” said Lt. Jim Riter, Boxford police dept.

As parents were picking their toddlers up from a preschool at the church, someone let the man in to use the restroom. He then asked to speak with a minister, who was in a different building.

“He was wrestling with both psychological and spiritual issues. He was sick, he needed medical help,” said Rev. Laura Gronberg, 2nd Congregational Church of Boxford.

When the soldier said he had a gun in his car, the minister dialed 911. The man accepted and got into an ambulance for a mental health evaluation.

However, police say the soldier changed his mind, bolted and ended up in a garage where he startled a homeowner and then ran off again. Police say he reemerged on Kendall Road where they found him and took him into custody without a struggle.
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