Man arrested after standoff at pizza shop

No gun was found after a brief standoff between police and a man thought to be holding an employee hostage in a Great Plain Avenue restaurant Friday.

Police officers and a SWAT team responded to Stone Heath Pizza shortly after 3 p.m. on reports of a man with a gun causing a disturbance. The massive police response occurred as law enforcement officers scoured the area for a man, later identified as William Dunn of Norwood, who had allegedly beaten an elderly man to death in the basement of his Elmwood Road home.

A half hour into the standoff, a man wearing a black suit and dark shoes walked backward out of the restaurant as police and SWAT team officers trained their weapons on him. Police quickly arrested the man, later identified as 37-year-old Hillel Neuer.

Neuer was charged with disorderly conduct.

The connection between the two events was still unclear when police officials spoke with members of the media Friday evening.

"We're still sorting that out," Police Chief Tom Leary said of the Great Plain Avenue incident. "We did apprehend the man and he is in custody."

Chris Robbins, co-owner of Stone Hearth Pizza, said the restaurant's manager told him the man was "very agitated" when he came into the restaurant.

"He used the bathroom and actually came out dressed in something different," Robbins said.

The manager called the police and told employees and three or four customers in the pizzeria to leave, Robbins said.

Police said officers on the scene were told by employees that the man was holding another employee hostage with a gun, although no weapon was found.

During the standoff, police placed all schools in Needham, as well as the public library, under lockdown. Town workers also barricaded streets around Town Hall while helicopters buzzed overhead.

At the news conference, Leary said police responding to the Great Plan Avenue incident did not know whether the man inside was related to the homicide on Elmwood Road.

"We were not sure at that time," he said.

Neal Simpson can be reached at <u><span style="color: blue;">nsimpson@cnc.com.</span></u> Erin Clossey and Jim Walker contributed to this report.