Police still looking for leads in locating Paul Dimick, suspected shooter in Friday homicide

MANCHESTER, NH – More than 24 hours after a fatal shooting in Manchester, police continue to hunt for the suspect, Paul Dimick, who fled the scene on foot after the fatal shooting of Justin Lee, according to witnesses.

“There is no real news to put out today,” said Assistant Attorney General John Kennedy Saturday just before 1 p.m. “But I can say that Dimick is still at large and we are still asking for the public’s assistance in any information related to Dimick’s whereabouts.  He is still considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.”

Manchester Police issued a “be on the lookout” Friday night for a tan Saab related to search for Dimick, confirmed Kennedy. Dimick was believed to be in the vehicle, along with other known individuals.

After several hours, including launching tear gas and percussive grenades into the apartment, police ultimately discovered that no one was inside the residence.

In a press conference held late Friday, Capano reiterated that while the entire scenario created a widespread disturbance to the community at large, he said he was unapologetic, as the safety of residents and students were his primary objective, and that he would “do it again” if necessary.

Several sources have reported to the InkLink that the residence was known to police for drug activity, and that Dimick and Lee were known to one another.

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The shooting triggered a chain of events in the neighborhood adjacent to the Hanover-Maple Street apartment house, where a police SWAT team zeroed in after receiving tips that Dimick had entered the building. Due to the proximity of the building to Central High School and the volatility of the situation, Manchester Police Chief Carlo Capano determined the safest course of action for students and staff at the high school was to issue a “secure campus” order, meaning doors were locked and no one would be allowed to enter or exit the building.

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Saturday morning the NEA-NH teachers union issued a statement, commending teachers as “rock stars” during the five-hour ordeal. It is excerpted below:

Students and staff waited more than five hours beyond the regular dismissal bell before they were bused to Hillside Middle School beginning at about 8:15 p.m. Parents spent much of the day huddled not far from the high school, talking with other parents or in communication with their children by cell phone. The last bus delivered students to Hillside at 9:45 p.m. Central educators and staff continued to stay with their students at Hillside to help students find their families, and then going home to their own families at 11 p.m., finally closing a very long school day.

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, whose daughter is a freshman at Central High, was among the many parents at Hillside Friday night waiting to be reunited with their children.

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When the students had to evacuate the high school to go to Hillside, Manchester support staff worked both sides of each corridor checking each room to be sure all students were accounted for and made it out of the building safely.

“It is important to note that no one panicked,” said Cathy Gagnon, support staff member at Central High School. “We all listened to the people in charge from the Manchester Police Department and our principal. The well-being of our students was everyone’s top concern.”

“One person who deserves a lot of credit is our nurse, added Gagnon. “She was all alone and had kids who needed medications. Parents were calling and she did an awesome job. She was exhausted by the end of it all.”

“I could not be more proud of the educators in Manchester than I am right now!” said Megan Tuttle, NEA-NH President. “Parents across the state entrust their children to us every day. From the moment they step onto the bus to go to school, until the moment that bus brings them home, caring, dedicated educators do everything they can to make sure parents can hug their children each night. Manchester educators, support staff, and administrative assistants showed us all tonight just what that dedication looks like.”

Residents in the immediate area of the SWAT staging were told by police they could not leave their homes while police were surrounding the target residence, a reality that resulted in at least one arrest – resident Jeremy Kaufmann, a small high-tech business owner in Manchester and Freestater, captured the moments leading to his arrest on his cell phone, which he posted via Facebook live.

Kaufmann, who was eventually charged with disorderly conduct, was trying to leave his property to pick-up his child from a babysitter’s house when he exited his home and engaged with an on-duty police officer who told him repeatedly to go back to his residence. When Kaufmann questioned the officer’s order and asked him what law he was violating, and further refused to do what the officer told him to do, he was arrested. [See below]

On the other side of the coin, Stephanie Backman, who works for the state Office of Employment Security, located about a half-block west of the SWAT activity on Hanover Street, said she was surprised that their office was not told to shelter in place by police, or evacuated.

“They have Central High on lock down, yet our office — which is right down the street from the incident — remained open, Backman said Friday night. “We saw police with guns drawn walking past our building. Not one officer came in. We all left at quitting time.”

Backman said the office manager was not in Friday, but someone from the Hanover Street office emailed supervisors in Concord to let them know what was going on at the Manchester office.

“We got no response. I feel they should have closed our office. It feels like disregard for our safety,” Backman said.