A man wearing a PLO pin was shot in the stomach Thursday evening after rushing through traffic and tackling a pro-Israel Iraq war veteran across the street in Newton, Massachusetts.
A handful of pro-Israel demonstrators on Washington Street in Newton were yelled at from across the street by a pro-Hamas individual. The event escalated into violence when the pro-Hamas man rushed to confront the demonstrated physically, pushing one man to the sidewalk and assaulting him until the attacker was shot by a bystander.
A pro-Palestinian protestor was shot by a pro-Israel veteran during a pro-Israel rally in Newton, Massachusetts.
The pro-Palestinian activist was shouting at the group of 10 protesters, calling them “sick” and accusing them of “defending genocide.”
Scott Hayes, 47, of… pic.twitter.com/rpVEOXpYfn
— Mark Chapman (@MC_IBTimesSG) September 13, 2024
District Attorney Marian Ryan said the attacker suffered life-threatening injuries and was being treated at a hospital. Ryan noted that Scott Hayes, 47, of Framingham, was arrested on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon––for which he had a license––and violations of a constitutional right causing injury.
According to Ryan, at 6:40 PM police were alerted about a disturbance at Washington and Harvard streets, where a small group of pro-Israel demonstrators were attacked “apparently completely randomly” by an individual who had been yelling at them from across the street. “Words were exchanged back and forth across the street,” Ryan said, until the man crossed the street and “jumped on one of the demonstrators.”
During the confrontation, the man was shot by one of the demonstrators, according to Ryan’s statement.
Hayes will be arraigned on Friday in Newton District Court.
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller urged everyone involved to “Let the Newton police do their work and get the facts straight. I ask everyone to remain calm.”
Scott Hayes appears on the Facebook event page as the organizer, alongside a group calling itself Massachusetts Residents Fighting Antisemitism, which has 1.9k followers.
