This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. on May 28, 2026.
Police shot and injured a 36-year-old man in Milton Wednesday night, prompting the closure Thursday of Milton Elementary School and Nute Middle High School.
According to a statement from the state Attorney General’s office on Thursday afternoon, Farmington police were dispatched to Elm Street in Milton where they encountered Ryan Cantwell “barricaded inside a vehicle and armed with what appeared to be a firearm.”
Cantwell was shot by one or more officers, according to the press release. The officers were wearing body cameras. The Attorney General’s office has not yet released the names of the officers involved, and the shooting is under investigation.
Cantwell was hospitalized as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Attorney General’s office.
The Milton School District closed schools Thursday due to the police activity in the area.
Three people have died during encounters with law enforcement in the state so far this year, all during the month of April. A man in Ashland and a woman in Northfield were both killed by police that month, and a man in Raymond died by self-inflicted gunshot wound after a standoff with police.
