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‘Extremely Disheartening': New Hampshire Police Recruit Accused of Making Mass Shooting Threats

Noah Beaulieu allegedly told fellow recruits that the amount of ammo he would bring to the police academy graduation 'would be so powerful that bulletproof vests wouldn’t protect anyone.'

What to Know

  • Noah Beaulieu, 24, was arrested Wednesday and fired from the Laconia Police Department.
  • Police recruit Beaulieu allegedly threatened to shoot up the 177th Police Academy graduation ceremony scheduled for Friday.
  • Beaulieu’s defense attorney Mark Sisti says his client has no history of mental health issues and calls the charges outrageous.

A police recruit in New Hampshire is in trouble with the law after allegedly making mass shooting threats.

Noah Beaulieu was arrested Wednesday and charged with criminal threatening after he allegedly threatened to shoot up the 177th Police Academy graduation ceremony scheduled for Friday.

“It’s extremely disheartening and certainly a very big disappointment,” said Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield.

Canfield hired the 24-year-old back in May.

“He went through an extensive background check,” Canfield said Thursday. “There were no red flags.”

Two days before Beaulieu graduated from the NH Police Academy, he was arrested and fired from the Laconia Police Department.

“He was stripped of his authority including his badge and gun,” Canfield said.

That’s because Beaulieu’s fellow recruits say he was making violent threats. They allegedly started weeks ago when he mentioned a suicide pact to be carried out during Friday’s graduation. Then on Monday, Beaulieu allegedly told recruits that “the amount of ammo he would bring in would be so powerful that bulletproof vests wouldn’t protect anyone.”

He reportedly added that “they didn’t have to worry about their families getting hurt because he would be focused on killing all law enforcement on graduation day.”

Chief Canfield was there Wednesday night when State Police arrested him.

“At that time, he claimed that he was joking around and that the remarks were not of serious nature,” Canfield said.

Beaulieu’s defense attorney Mark Sisti says his client has no history of mental health issues.

“My client never intended in any way shape or form to terrorize anybody period,” he told NBC10 Boston Thursday afternoon.

He says the charges are outrageous.

“He wants to be released and he wants to confront his accusers as quickly as possible,” Sisti said. “He wants to go on with his life. This is a man who has no record whatsoever, not even a speeding ticket.”

Beaulieu is a veteran, but Canfield says he never saw combat.

He’ll undergo a mental health evaluation Thursday night and will be held until a bail hearing Friday morning.

Canfield says before he was hired, Beaulieu passed his background checks and psych exam with flying colors and that there’s nothing his department could’ve done differently.

“Unfortunately, we can’t predict what’s in someone’s mind and what they are thinking,” Canfield said.

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