Police say a search for two suspects who may be armed on Wednesday morning has been suspended.
The suspects were wanted in connection with a carjacking, police said. A heavy police presence was at the scene and Massachusetts State Police provided air support for the search before it was called off after about four hours.
The search was centered around the Route 27 area, with police searching behind several area homes.
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Due to the ongoing police search, an elementary school in Sherborn canceled classes on Wednesday.
Middle and high school students from Sherborn were also told to stay home, the superintendent's office said. Students from Dover who attend the middle/high school are at school but have a scheduled half day.
"We got a call this morning just saying they weren’t going to have school today due to police activity by the school," Megan Page said.
"They said there was an accident and two suspects on the loose so it seems like it was a dangerous situation," Keith Abbett said.
Schools in neighboring Natick were temporarily ordered to shelter in place, but police there said the order was lifted around 10 a.m. after Sherborn police suspended their search.
Police said the suspects crashed a vehicle reported stolen earlier in the week out of Sudbury into a utility pole in Sherborn near the Natick town line shortly before 6 a.m. They said the suspects attempted to carjack someone who stopped to help, then fled on foot.
Evidence found in their vehicle indicates the suspects were involved in multiple break-ins in the area, police said.
State police said they believe the suspects are likely the same people who were pursued in a different vehicle by Hopkinton police around 4 a.m. Wednesday. The suspects crashed in that vehicle and fled on foot.
Route 27 north and south in Sherborn were temporarily closed in the area of Eliot and Butler streets due to the police activity Wednesday morning, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said.
John DeSalvo, who lives in the area, said he was shocked to learn what had unfolded so close to his home. He said he heard about what happened from his neighbor, who saw the whole thing.
"He said he saw two guys get out of the car and try to get into the car behind them, and then they said the guy got out of the truck," he said. "I don't know why they decided not to take the truck."
DeSalvo said he saw the suspects run through his yard between his house and his barn. He saw each man holding a gun.
"When my wife opened the door, [police] were like, 'Red alert, go back inside and keep the door locked," he said.
The DeSalvos, who have two young children at home, did exactly that.
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Police don't want people to be alarmed but they do want them to be alert.
"It just shows it can happen anywhere at any time that’s what it shows," Police Chief Thomas Galvin said. "No community, nobody is immune to it. We just stay on top of it and keep our residents safe.
Police believe the suspects have left the area but they are reminding residents to report any suspicious activity in Sherborn.
