(CNN) — A nighttime confrontation between Massachusetts state police and “several heavily armed men” in a forest ended Saturday morning with 11 people arrested, authorities said.
The ordeal, which began during a police traffic stop, led to the closure of part of Interstate 95. A “shelter-in-place” order was launched for the area. surrounding area, police said.
The men wore what Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason described as tactical vests and military-style uniforms, along with body cameras, and carried a mix of long rifles and pistols. The men indicated they were traveling from Rhode Island to “train,” according to Mason.
Mason told a news conference on Saturday morning that he was not aware of any specific demands by the group and that negotiators had interacted with them to obtain more information.
The situation began around 1:30 a.m., when a state trooper spotted two vehicles on the side of the highway with their hazard lights on, Mason said.
The men claimed to be “from a group that does not recognize our laws,” according to a statement from the Wakefield Police Department.
Police at the scene applied for driver’s licenses and firearm licenses, but people said they did not have them or did not have them in their possession, Mason reported.
At some point during this interaction, several individuals ran into the woods with their firearms, Mason said. Police established a perimeter, and two people were initially arrested in the woods, one of whom was armed, according to Mason.
Massachusetts State Police indicated in a tweet around 5:30 am that the members of the group “refused to comply with orders to provide their information and lay down their arms.”
“Through our hostage negotiation team, we are talking to the subjects, some who are in the forest, others who are in the vehicles on the road where the initial interaction occurred, and we are hopeful that we can resolve this peacefully with them. Mason said during the confrontation.
Of the 11 people who were eventually arrested, two were located in the vehicles, state police said.
The group’s self-proclaimed leader wanted it to be known that his ideology is not contrary to that of the government, Mason said.
“I think the research that follows this interaction will provide us with more information on what their motivation is, what their ideology is… their actions have had a significant impact on traffic, particularly since it is a holiday weekend,” Mason said.
Wakefield and Reading residents were urged to take refuge during the fighting. The measure has since been lifted.
“We will now conduct searches of his 2 vehicles and in woods,” the Massachusetts State Police tweeted.
Kristen Setera, an FBI spokeswoman in Boston, said the FBI is “totally committed to our state and local partners.”
CNN’s Lechelle Benken, Tanika Gray, and Ganesh Setty contributed to this report.
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