BOSTON — Boston Police say a crowd of more than 100 people attacked Boston Police cruisers, shutting down the intersection of Tremont Street and Massachusetts Avenue with their cars, just after 2 AM Sunday.
Police are calling this a ‘large-scale vehicle takeover.’
“That cop car lighting on fire because of the explosives was insane I’ve never seen something like that in my life,” said Gianna Tufano, who lives nearby.
People who live at this South End intersection were woken up to the chaos early Sunday morning.
“It was like crazy there was fire everywhere, there was cop cars for probably a mile down,” said Laila Dellorso, who lives nearby.
“It was like a riot and then we saw someone get arrested and we look to our right and there’s this cop car on fire,” said Simran Nalhatra, who lives nearby.
Witnesses say a Boston police car burst into flames after someone threw fireworks at it.
Police say their marked cars were also smashed with cones, poles and other objects.
“It was really scary, I was like I don’t know why it was so loud and everyone’s screaming and it went on for an hour or two,” said Neha Senthil, who lives nearby.
Over in Randolph, less than an hour earlier, police reported another vehicle takeover at the intersection of Oak and North Main streets, where police cruisers were also targeted by a crowd of more than 100 people.
Randolph Police say their officers were in extreme danger as the individuals sat on the hoods of their cars while they tried driving away.
“I’ve only ever seen them run from the cops I’ve never seen the violence towards the cops like that in my life,” said Tufano.
It’s unclear whether these takeovers in both Randolph and Boston were connected.
Boston police did arrest two men from Rhode Island for some of the most serious assaults on the officers. Julian Bowers, 18, and William Cantwell, 19, will be arraigned in Roxbury district court Monday.
“I thank our Boston Police officers and all our first responders for their actions last night,” said Mayor Michelle Wu in a statement. “The outside individuals who brought dangerous and disorderly conduct into Boston last night will be prosecuted and held fully accountable for their actions. These groups are not welcome here and will face serious consequences.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
