‘My God, we’re scared’: serial attacks push Boston suburb to the limit

Attacks happen after dark, without warning, usually from behind.

The victims, all men, are hit so hard on the head with some type of blunt object that they often fall to the ground and require medical attention.

The seemingly random sequence of at least 10 attacks in the Boston suburb of Waltham has enraged city leaders, frustrated police and scared residents.

“There is definitely a fear factor in our city right now,” Police Detective Sgt. Steve McCarthy, who is leading the investigation, told a news conference today.

The attacks began on November 11 at the Gardencrest apartment complex, but have spread to the center of the city of about 60,000 residents about 10 miles west of Boston. The last attack was the day after Thanksgiving.

“People are worried and a small group of people are really scared,” said City Councilman Sean Durkee, whose district includes Gardencrest. “I’ve always told people there is nowhere in Waltham where I wouldn’t let my mother walk at night, until last week. It’s not the kind of thing that happens here.”

Bewildered residents are changing their routines and paying more attention to their surroundings.

“My God, we’re scared,” said Amos Frederick, 37, as he walked through the complex. “We all stay indoors except during the day. If someone just walks to their car, we have to take care of them.”

Nathan Lumunye, 24, works nights at a home improvement store.

“I have to go to work,” he said. “So I make sure I get out of the house earlier and be vigilant.”

All the victims have been men, and all on foot, but they are in their 20s and 40s and are of diverse ethnic backgrounds, said Police Chief Keith MacPherson. They have all been ambushed after dark by someone wearing a mask or a hoodie tight around their face, the chief said.

A victim was walking a dog. One was getting into a vehicle. A mailman from the United States Postal Service was also attacked.

Some required hospitalization.

“They are pretty serious injuries, including facial orbital fractures, broken nose, lacerations to the face. So we don’t think it could just be someone’s fist,” said the chief.

Emerson Antonio Aroche Paz was hit in the head twice around 10 p.m. local time on November 25, he told the Boston Globe.

He wiped the blood from his face so he could see his attacker, but the person had fled. He called the emergency services and went to the hospital.

“My nose was broken. Part of my head is broken,” said Aroche Paz. “But my brain is fine.”

Due to the form of the attacks and the attacker fleeing immediately, the victims have not been able to provide a clear description to investigators.

The city has released surveillance footage of a suspect that has led to some leads and has offered a $ 5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

“We have a couple of people of interest,” McCarthy said.

What is causing the attacks remains unclear.

“The motive is somewhat in doubt, but it appears to be an emotion for the assault, or someone who is very violent and enjoys seeing someone hurt by this,” MacPherson said today. “There has never been a robbery. It has always been just a robbery and the robber leaves.”

Waltham police consulted with Boston police to determine if the attacks could be some kind of gang initiation, but that does not appear to be the case.

Although police are not sure if they are looking for one attacker or more, the suspect is likely working alone and is likely motivated by excitement, enjoyment, a sense of power and a sense of dominance, James Alan Fox, Professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University, he said.

“This person has the entire city of Waltham in his grip of terror,” said Fox, who has written several books on mass murderers.

The fact that the victims are men may indicate that the attacker has a certain sense of morality.

“You may feel that attacking women is unfair. It is too easy. You think you don’t hit a girl or a woman,” Fox said.

In response to the attacks, the police have stepped up patrols with uniformed and plainclothes officers and are also using drones for aerial surveillance.

The fact that the suspect got away with so many attacks may be his downfall, Fox said.

“At some point his luck runs out and he makes a mistake,” Fox said.

– AP