Harrison Thorp 5:56 a.m.
Friday, May 29, 2026 5:58 am

A State Police evidence technician returns to the State Police Crime Van after inspecting a white truck on the lawn at 10 Elm St. Monday. The truck was towed away shortly after. (Rochester Voice photo)

MILTON - One or more police officers fired upon a man barricaded in his truck during a confrontation on the front lawn of a Milton residence Wednesday night, according to a release from the Attorney Generals Office sent out Thursday afternoon.
According to the statement, around 9:45 p.m. officers with the Milton Police Department, Farmington Police Department and New Hampshire State Police were dispatched to 10 Elm St. in Milton in response to a resident's 911 call.
The initial release indicated that Farmington Police were dispatched via mutual aid and subsequently arrived at the scene and confronted a man inside a white pickup truck who appeared to have a handgun.
During the officers' interaction with the male, identified as Ryan Cantwell, 36, gunshots were fired and the adult male was injured, according to the release. He was transported to a hospital where he is currently receiving medical attention.
Officers were wearing body cameras at the time of the event, and that footage is being reviewed by investigators.
The release sent out Thursday afternoon did not state whether police had located the suspected firearm Cantwell had on him.
He currently hospitalized and receiving treatment for multiple gunshot wounds.
One nearby resident told The Rochester Voice late Thursday morning that multiple gunshots woke him up around while he was trying to get to sleep.
"It was one right after another, so it was either a semi-automatic or different people shooting at the same time," he said.
The man said he first thought the shots might be fireworks, but when a couple of minutes later he saw the ambulance going up the road, he realized it was most likely a shooting.
"It was a lot of excitement," he said, "but we don't need that excitement up here."
Later around 11 a.m. The Rochester Voice noticed what appeared to be a state police officer taking a long look inside a white truck that was parked on a lawn near the intersection of Elm and School streets before returning to a State Police evidence truck.
Both Milton Elementary School and Nute Junior/Senior High School were closed on Thursday.
No further information is expected to be provided until the identity of the officer(s) using deadly force is/are disclosed following formal interviews, which are expected to occur sometime next week. The exact circumstances surrounding this incident remain under active investigation.