A pro-Israel demonstrator accused of shooting and wounding a man who tackled him in a Boston-area city was arraigned in court Friday, and the injured man could also be charged, authorities said.
Scott Hayes, 47, from Framingham, was arrested and accused of shooting the man who allegedly tackled him. He was arraigned Friday on a count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, Newton police and the district attorney’s office said.
The person who allegedly tackled him, identified as a 31-year-old Newton man, is now expected to survive his injuries and police have applied for a criminal complaint against him for assault and battery, they said.
The shooting happened around 6:40 p.m. as a small group held a pro-Israel demonstration at the intersection of Harvard and Washington streets in the Boston-area city, according to authorities.
Hayes was at the pro-Israel demonstration. The man who was shot was walking on the other side of the street and “began shouting comments at the demonstrators,” police said Friday.
“There were things being said across the street back and forth,” Middlesex County District Marian Ryan said Thursday night after the incident. “Ultimately that individual came very rapidly across the street and tackled one of the demonstrators.”
“An altercation followed during which Hayes allegedly shot the Newton man,” police said.
There have been protests and demonstrations across the U.S. in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks against Israel that killed over 1,200 people, and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, where the Gaza Health Ministry has said more than 41,000 people have been killed.
Asked at a news conference Thursday if the man shot was anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, Ryan said, “I think it’s too soon to get into that.”
The shooting remains under investigation.
Acting Newton Police Chief George McMains asked anyone with video of what occurred or information to contact the department’s detective bureau.
“Investigators are still gathering and reviewing video of the incident and conducting witness interviews,” police said Friday.
There will be extra police patrols at houses of worship over the next several days, McMains said.
Mayor Ruthanne Fuller called for patience and calm as investigators look into what occurred.
“Let the Newton police do their work and get the facts straight,” Fuller said Thursday night. “It’s really early stages of an active investigation.”
Newton is a city of around 88,000 just west of Boston, in the Boston metropolitan area.
