Sex offender ‘blasts fireworks at cops’ in explosive two-hour standoff
Registered sex offender Rory Robertson allegedly launched fireworks at police and patrol cars during a two-hour standoff before being brought down by pepper balls
Rory Robertson, 46, allegedly went berserk when officers in the US attempted to pull him over(Image: Durham Police Department)
A sex offender is accused of launching an explosive barrage of fireworks at police during a dramatic two-hour standoff. Registered sex offender Rory Robertson, 46, allegedly went berserk when officers in the US attempted to pull him over at around 6am on Monday (August 10) after he left his home in Durham, New Hampshire.
According to police accounts, the driver refused to stop and quickly fled the scene before barricading himself inside a nearby house.
Once inside, Robertson is alleged to have launched a terrifying pyrotechnic assault on law enforcement, targeting both petrified officers and a marked patrol car outside.
Robertson is alleged to have launched a terrifying pyrotechnic assault on law enforcement(Image: WMUR)
Investigators claim the barrage included a “large shell style firework” that narrowly missed an officer before exploding directly underneath a police cruiser.
The explosive hazard forced authorities to issue an urgent shelter-in-place order for nearby residents.
The siege ended shortly after 8am when Robertson emerged from the property.
Investigators claim the barrage included a ‘large shell style firework’ that narrowly missed an officer(Image: WMUR)
Officers report he rushed at them before allegedly being brought down by a volley of non-lethal pepper ball rounds. No officers were injured in the incident.
Robertson was treated for minor injuries before being transferred to Strafford County House of Corrections.
Force chiefs noted he had been given multiple opportunities to turn himself in prior to the standoff.
The explosive hazard forced authorities to issue an urgent shelter-in-place order for residents(Image: WMUR)
In addition to existing warrants for breach of bail, violation of bail conditions and theft, he now faces new charges including reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and criminal threatening.
Court records confirm Robertson was convicted of a felony sex assault in 2009, and is due to face a competency hearing in October.
Those proceedings relate to separate stalking and sexual assault charges allegedly committed in 2024.
