John Jefferson
A man wearing a pro-Palestine badge was shot after he tackled a pro-Israel demonstrator at a rally in Newton, Massachusetts.
The altercation broke out when a group of pro-Israel protesters gathered at Washington and Harvard Street on Thursday evening.
Cellphone footage circulating on social media shows a man wearing a pro-Palestine pin across the road from the pro-Israel demonstrators shouting at them.
“You are sick, you are sick – you are defending genocide,” he shouts.
A woman’s voice is heard shouting back, calling the man “stupid.”
The man is seen then running across the road and jumping on top of one of the demonstrators – identified as 47-year-old Scott Hayes – and tackling him to the ground.
The two men wrestle on the ground with other pro-Israel demonstrators trying to stop the altercation.
Newton Police said that Hayes then shot the man who tackled him, who has not been identified.
Video from another angle shows the moment the suspected shooter appears to grab his pistol and fire a single shot at close range at the other man.
“Grab my pistol. Grab my pistol,” a voice says, before another is heard saying: “Call the cops.”
Police responded to the scene at around 6.40pm and the man who was shot was taken to hospital. Police said he is in a life-threatening condition.
Hayes – described as a pro-Israel Iraq war veteran from Framingham byThe Daily Wire – was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury.
He will be arraigned on Friday at Newton District Court.
In a late-night press conference, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said that Hayes legally owns the gun allegedly used in the shooting.
“There was an individual apparently – completely randomly – walking down the other side of the street. Words were exchanged back and forth across the street,” she said of the shooting.
“Ultimately that individual came very rapidly across the street and tackled one of the demonstrators. There was a scuffle that was going on the street and at some point Mr Hayes used a gun and fired a shot that struck the individual who had come across the street.”
Also speaking at the press conference, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller urged the public to “re calm” and let the police “do their work and get the facts straight.”
Newtown police will be increasing patrols at houses of worship over the coming days.
The shooting comes at a time of heightened tensions as the conflict in Gaza rages on, almost one year on from the October 7 attacks when Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 hostage.
Since then, Israel has bombarded Gaza from the air and ground, with more than 41,000 Palestinians killed in the offensive, according to Gaza officials. Around 90 per cent of the territory’s 2.3 million population has also been displaced.
Any members of the public with pictures, videos, or any other information about the incident in Newton are urged to contact the Newton Police Department Detective Bureau at 617-796-2104. People can contact the bureau anonymously on the tip line 617-796-2121.
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