Man, 21, 'barricaded himself' inside Massachusetts home and shot two family members

Hostage negotiators have surrounded a Massachusetts home where a 21-year-old man has barricaded himself after shooting two family members and then firing rounds at police officers who attempted to take him into custody. 

Officers were dispatched to a Worcester home at around 8:38 am on Friday after unidentified man shot and injured two family members, one woman and one man, with a handgun. 

Lt. Sean Murtha told MassLive police surrounded the home on Colby Avenue. 

When officers attempted to bring the shooter into custody, he fired rounds at the officers before running back in the house and barricading himself inside. 

'The officers attempted to take that individual into custody and we believe that during that attempt to take him into custody, fired rounds at the officers, thankfully not striking any of them. At that point, he ran back in the house,' Murtha. 

Both injured family members have been transported to a Worcester-area hospital and are being treated for their wounds.

The officers were not injured in the attack. 

Police are now attempting to negotiate with the shooter along with hostage negotiators and a mental health clinician. 

Police said they have also reached out to the individual's family in order to 'slow things down and negotiate.' 

Officers have been attempting to make contact for several hours. 

Cops are pictured outside a home in Worcester, Massachusetts, where a 21 year-old man allegedly barricaded himself inside and shot two people on Friday 

Murtha said the man is 'not somebody we regularly deal with, not well known' to police. 

Worcester police closed off Colby Avenue Friday morning, and told neighbors to stay away from the area. 

A woman was attempting to visit her friend on Colby Street Fiday, but police told her to shelter in place, according to MassLive. 

A helicopter and drone were seen circling over the street, where as of Friday afternoon, the suspect was still inside. 

Murtha told MassLive that police held a perimeter around the house and evacuated neighbors near the house. 

One neighbor was escorted to safety by police officers with guns drawn. 

The suspect also opened fire on cops during an ensuing stand-off involving hostage negotiators, it is claimed 

Abdul Bilal also lives nearby and said he was shocked to witness the scene. 

'Never seen something like this. I've been here for probably two years,' he told WBZ-TV. 'I've never seen a lot of cops and fire trucks, ambulances, different types of cop cars, all this. It's kind of scary.'

James Cawley, a nearby resident was away when the incident occurred. 

He returned to find the neighborhood filled with police officer. 

He had to wait hours before being able to return to his home, according to the Telegram. 

Murtha said attempting to make contact is the main priority now. 

'We do have some potential phone numbers to call. There are various ways to make contact and again, in a situation like this, time is on our side generally. We want to slow things down, we want to do everything we can to ensure a peaceful resolution,' Murtha said.