Pittsfield Man Charged With Carjacking

11:13AM / Friday, January 17, 2025Print Story | Email Story

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A Pittsfield man has been charged with carjacking following an incident Thursday in the Target parking lot at the Berkshire Mall.

Police say Earl N. Kirchner, 64, was arrested at the scene and also faces charges of assault and battery and assault and battery on a police officer.

The carjacking is a felony and the assaults are misdemeanors. Kirchner was being held at the Berkshire County House of Corrections pending his arraignment.

According to police, the carjacking attempt was called in at about 1:30 p.m. The victim told authorities that the suspect had punched and kicked him in attempting to steal his motor vehicle. The victim was able to prevent the suspect from driving away before police arrived.

Officers said Kirchner kicked them while they were trying to take him into custody. However, no injuries were reported.

Tags: assaults, carjacking,

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Taconic High Closed Wednesday for Cleanup

07:16PM / Tuesday, February 10, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A sewer backup forced the closure of Taconic High School on Tuesday afternoon and canceled all afternoon activities and classes on Wednesday.

According to a message sent to the school community by Principal Matthew Bishop, plumbers working at the school removed a drain cap at about 1:50 p.m., which allowed sewage to spill into the Career Technical Education hallway.

Students were taken to the gym and auditorium, and then released from the building at about 2:25 p.m., a few minutes earlier than normal. The girls basketball team did meet at the school to take the bus to the game at Putnam Vocational in Springfield.

Bishop had messaged that crews were being coordinated to clean the building and reopen it on Wednesday but by early evening that was found to not be possible.

Classes were canceled Wednesday, he wrote, "to allow for the sewer drain issue in the building to be fully resolved.

"Professional sanitation and cleaning teams are on site in cooperation with city maintenance officials, to ensure our building is thoroughly cleaned before students and staff return."

The school community will be updated if there are any changes.

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