There was a serious incident on Sunday night around 7pm involving an attempted armed robbery with a gun being fired. An older couple was walking with a dog near the underpass between Fulton and Commercial Streets across from the Golden Goose. A man approached and asked for their wallets. They ran and the man shot a gun at the ground hitting the female victim’s shoe. The full police report is shown below with a description of the suspect.
Citizen Alert
Boston Police: A-1 Downtown
Attempted Armed Robbery – Shot Fired
On Sunday, December 13th, at 7pm, an older couple was walking along
Fulton Street towards the underpass to 170 Commercial Street when a
male suspect (described as possibly Hispanic or Middle Eastern, 5’7″,
slim build, skinny face, between 15yrs. & 20 yrs. of age, wearing a
red hooded sweatshirt – hood pulled over upper section of the face)
pulled out a large black colored handgun and demanded the wallet from
the male victim.
As the couple proceeded away from the suspect, the
suspect fired a round into the ground. A bullet fragment struck the
female victim in the shoe. The female victim suffered a superficial
wound. The suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction. Boston Police
units responded and canvassed the area.
Anyone with information regarding this incident, please contact the Boston Police District A-1 Detectives at #617-343-4571 & #617-343-4248.
You do not run from someone making demands with a gun. If that bullet wound up splitting or shattering bone, would the victim want to be hobbling as a daily reminder? Better to have a $20 bill in your pocket ready to hand over. A thief is not going to pursue you if you toss $20 to the ground. To increase your odds, have $30 or $40.
Furthermore, the underpass at Fulton and Commercial is the perfect storm for a mugging. Closed path, no secondary egress, dark and unpatrolled by eyes, cameras or guards. Even during the bright daylight, I pass in and out from the goose with heightened alertness.
Now I know to take the more circuitous path. I would never even go near it at night.
Thieves pick on the most vulnerable targets. I am often amazed by the number of people who are unaware of their surroundings. This includes women running along The Charles at night with headphones on. When I run past them, they flinch.
Keep an eye on the 360, and look anyone coming into 50 yards of you dead in the eye. It’s all about control. The thief wants the easiest person s/he can control. Eye contact asserts power–well, at least confidence. Do not be afraid to cross the street or run–BEFORE approached. I have been in this situation a couple of times. Someone is closing in. I am not afraid of appearing afraid. Awareness alone complicates the plight of the thief.
No one wants to shoot at a moving target that is obviously aware of the situation. Chances are the suspicious person will go the easy route and wait for someone more timid, Why play games with someone who is already putting up resistance?
Bolt. If you are not phsyically fit or able to bolt, I have heard that screaming "fire" gets more attention than anything else. Cause a commotion, do ANYTHING to put space between you and the prospective attacker–and make some noise. Again, I have read that screaming ‘fire" works best. Remember Kitty Genovese. No one helped her when she was screaming in a dense neighborhod. Diffusion of responsibility. Everyone counts on someone else to help the screamer. No one wants to get burned, though!
Be aware of your surroundings.
The suspect was in front of 210 commercial street moments before he attempted to rob these people. The police need to check the security cameras that are in front of that store front to try and get a more positive ID on him so they can put his photo up for people to try and identify.
As the "Older Couple" who were the victims of this crime we wish to thank all our neighbors who responded so quickly to our cries for help. Their kindness and support make us still believe that the North End is still a great place to live. Twelve years of living here without any incidents of this nature made us a little careless and in the future we will be more cautious. We would also like to thank the Boston Police Officers and EMT’s who responded quickly and were very efficient and supportive.