Dropping off some 50 pies beforehand and dawning a festive turkey cap, McAvoy, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston City Council President Ed Flynn, and other officials helped carve turkeys for nearly 2,000 holiday dinners.

“It’s just a great time – we get to come here, we get to meet a lot of nice people, a lot of people who are volunteering their time as well and it’s awesome,” McAvoy told reporters.

“This organization and all of our partners across the city do so much every single day of the year,” Wu said. “For all of the staff, for all of the supporters, everyone who comes here to volunteer – it’s life-changing.”

The volunteers worked to serve meals at a time Pine Street Inn Executive Director Lyndia Downie said the shelter is over-capacity. She also described how for those in need of the shelter’s services, Thanksgiving can often be bittersweet.

“Everybody’s home, everybody’s talking about being with family, being with friends, and if you’re here, that’s not your situation – you’re by yourself and you’re really feeling it, so it’s a very, very hard day, it’s a very emotional day for people,” Downie said.

Speaking with reporters, one volunteer said she had previously stayed at the Inn, but after finding housing, was back to give back herself.

“I might as well give back because I’m so thankful – for what Pine Street has done for me for many, many years,” said Julia Mitchell.

Those interested in contributing or assisting Pine Street Inn in their mission can find more info here.

The fire burned at Los Amigos Restaurant and sparked a massive response from firefighters from Chelsea and surrounding communities. 

Heavy smoke and flames could be seen billowing out of both stories of the structure on Broadway when fire crews arrived around 9 a.m. Fire crews could soon be seen attempting entry through the charred rear of the building and on the roof hammering down.

Authorities said the fire was put out in about an hour. Though the damage was limited to the one structure, officials said neighboring buildings potentially had water damage.

In an update later Wednesday afternoon, authorities said a Revere firefighter was taken to a hospital for what was considered a head injury.

“We’re in a commercial block, buildings are attached,” said Chelsea Fire Chief Leonard Albanese. “These are tough fire fights.”

“They were able to keep it to the structure of origin. Really strong work by the members,” Albanese continued.

With two families forced out of their homes on the day before Thanksgiving, crews worked into the night Wednesday to hopefully bring the displaced families home. 

Chelsea Emergency Management Director Steve Staffier said crews were working to get power restored after the fire. A second issue, he said, “is obviously cleanup.” 

At businesses near the site of this fire, such as the Calaveras Tattoo Studio, workers were thankful they had no damage. 

Though crews contained the fire, one area store owner said this fire’s timing and the need to close up shop on the day before a major holiday hit hard. 

“We lost business,” said Thaier Tuffaha. “It’s Thanksgiving Day tomorrow. We sell aluminum foil, kitchen stuff, all the things, that’s the stuff we sell here.”

An investigation into the cause of this fire remained ongoing as of Wednesday evening.

Crews responding to a reported structure fire at 173 Lafayett St. around 6 a.m. pulled an unconscious man from a first-floor unit.

He was taken to the hospital with what were considered life-threatening injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

No additional information was immediately available.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Revere police said the individuals usually work in teams traveling in a motor vehicle. They then approach victims on the street or in parking lots and attempt to get a victim to come over to the vehicle, according to police. 

Police said the individuals will then remove a victim’s jewelry and replace it with a counterfeit version.

Revere police shared video of one such incident that they said happened last week at the Northgate Shopping Center.

The warning from police, in turn, followed other recent incidents of reported jewelry thefts in communities including Lowell and Tyngsboro.

In Lowell, police said an elderly woman had her jewelry stolen while she was walking in town.

In Tyngsboro, a 77-year-old woman had her jewelry taken when an SUV drove up alongside her and a passenger grabbed her. The passenger made off with the woman’s gold necklace. 

While police released video of a car sought in connection with the incident in Tyngsboro, no arrests had been made as of Thursday of this week.

Back in Revere, police have urged people to be on the lookout, saying anyone approached by would-be jewelry thieves should not engage in conversation and instead call authorities at 781-284-1212. 

The devices can catch drivers who double park and block traffic. On Wednesday, 7NEWS got a closer look at how the technology works. 

“In general it’s hard,” said McKinnon’s Meat Market Manager Rigo Aleman. “For everyone.”

Aleman has been working at McKinnon’s Meat Market for 15 years. He said he sees a lot of double parking on Elm Street near the meat market.

“There’s a lot of traffic and it’s hard to walk for the people, pretty much, when they try to cross the street,” he said.

“It can be dangerous if they don’t pay attention,” he continued. 

City officials noticed in recent years that cars parked in a bus lane, in a crosswalk or in front of a fire hydrant in the Elm Street area.  

So, they tried a new strategy last year to minimize the parking problem, installing their new solar powered safety sticks. The sticks have a camera inside and capture instances when a driver parks and then leaves their car in an illegal parking zone. 

During last year’s pilot program, city officials said they noted more than 400 violations in a span of two months. 

“When people see empty spots, especially on the corners, they feel like, ‘Oh it will be OK if I just stop there for a minute,” said Somerville Director of Parking Suzanne Rinfert. “But it’s not usually a minute and a bus can pull up or someone could be in the crosswalk.”

When the safety sticks are activated again, city officials say they will take a picture of a license plate and send it to the city parking department with information on how long the car in question was idle in an illegal spot.

A parking official will then confirm the violation. If a car was in an illegal spot for longer than three minutes, a ticket will be mailed out. 

There are currently three safety sticks on Elm Street with a plan to expand to other parts of the city. 

Many said they think the program could help.

“People maybe change their behaviors, overall, to keep the roads safer,” said Somerville resident Cypress Frankfield. “It’s a good thing.”

City officials did not know as of Wednesday when the safety sticks will be live. They said they hope the system will be working by the end of the year, though.

Salem Hospital addressed the situation in a statement, saying the hospital was made aware earlier this year of “an isolated practice involving a small portion of endoscopy patients who were potentially exposed to infection due to the administration of their intravenous medication in a manner not consistent with our best practice.”

A hospital spokesperson in a subsequent statement said the situation affected nearly 450 patients over a period of roughly two years between June 2021 and April of this year.

Salem Hospital said the IV practice was immediately corrected after being identified. Hospital quality and infection control teams were also notified.

7NEWS learned one person involved in the situation now no longer works at Salem Hospital.

“After a comprehensive review, including feedback from public health officials at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), we have determined that the infection risk to patients from this event is extremely small,” the hospital said Wednesday. 

Salem Hospital said it had notified all potentially impacted patients and set up a clinician-staffed hotline to answer questions. 

The hospital said it is providing patients with free screening “and any necessary support.” 

As of Wednesday afternoon, the hospital said there was no evidence of any infections resulting from this incident. 

“The safety of our patients is our highest priority and we have undertaken multiple corrective actions in response to this event,” Salem Hospital said. “We sincerely apologize to those who have been impacted and we remain committed to delivering high-quality, compassionate health care to our community.”

Concord police shared details about the case on Monday night. 

Weeks earlier, on Oct. 19, police said workers at the Walmart location on Loudon Road in town told authorities that a loss prevention associate had found a credit card skimmer attached to a self-checkout register. 

Police said a loss prevention associate at the Market Basket location on Storrs Street later reached out on Oct. 27, saying they also found a skimmer on an express lane checkout.

Concord police on Monday said investigators determined both skimmers were installed by the same two people on Oct. 17.  

Asked how someone would get a skimmer onto a machine in a store with other people around, Concord Police Lt. Marc McGonagle responded.

“I’m assuming they are practiced,” he told 7NEWS. “They work in a group and they pay attention and they look out for each other.

The Concord Police department shared photos of two suspects linked to the alleged credit card skimmer case and said authorities were seeking to identify the pair as of Monday evening. 

Anyone with information or who believes their credit card may be compromised is asked to contact police by email at shemming@concordpolice.com or by phone 603-225-8600 (X4854). 

Individuals can also reach out anonymously via the Concord Regional Crimeline at (603) 226-3100, or submit information online through the Crimeline website at www.concordregionalcrimeline.com.

In the meantime, customers like Sue Borders shared their reaction to this news on Tuesday. 

“I’m disgusted but I’m not surprised,” Borders said. “I just think we need to be vigilant about going home and checking on the charges on our cards.”

Police said they had already received calls from customers at the Walmart on Loudon Road and the Market Basket on Storrs Street as of Tuesday afternoon after customers spotted unusual charges from as far away as Utah and California. 

Concord police also said this kind of skimmer scam is cropping up around New England, with incidents at other Market Basket locations in Nashua, New Hampshire as well as in Haverhill, Reading and Somerville, Massachusetts.

“Christmastime is coming and this is when you need to be wary of these types of scams and make sure you monitor your credit stuff,” Lt. McGonagle said.

McGonagle continued, saying customers might be able to know if a machine they’re using has a skimmer on it. 

“If you slide your card into the chip reader portion of the credit card reader, it would feel like it was jammed and it wasn’t doing anything,” McGonagle said. “People kind of reflexively just then go ahead and swipe the magnetic portion. That’s where they’re stealing the information.”

An Essex Superior Court judge ruled Monday that the Andover Education Association will face large fines for each day the illegal teachers strike continues. Hours later, it was announced that school would be canceled again Tuesday after a fourth day of failing to reach a contract agreement.

News of the ruling came after striking teachers in Andover made their voices heard, interrupting a planned school committee news conference. The judge’s ruling means the union will face a $50,000 fine for Monday and that figure will increase $10,000 a day for each day the strike carries on.

Members of the Andover Education Association voted on Friday to authorize a strike after months of negotiations with the Andover School Committee over a new contract. 

“What do we want?” said Andover teacher Frank McCall on Monday. “We want a fair contract.”

Shortly before 12 p.m., teachers chanted and held signs at High Plain Elementary School, where school committee members had planned to speak.

The school committee ended up postponing its scheduled availability for 90 minutes due to “safety concerns.” 

Speaking with reporters, union members said members of the school committee stayed out of view in a school library with police on hand.

“They were very scared of teachers and instructional assistants who want a fair, competitive cost of living adjustment,” said Julian DiGloria of the Andover Education Association. “This is a very scary thing we’re doing.”

The strike in Andover includes some 800 union members. 

While the Andover Education Association admits this strike is illegal, members said they will stand strong for the community and for students.

“Time and time again, I’ve seen the school committee disrespect and undervalue our teachers and it’s about time that something changes,” said Andover High School Senior Nate Allen during a rally in support of striking educators.

The Andover Education Association is asking for a four year contract featuring an 18% raise for teachers and a 34% raise for instructional assistants, whose pay currently starts at only about $25,000 a year.

The school committee has offered teachers a 14.25% raise over four years and a 24.3% raise for their assistants. 

Agency officials are going to address the dozens of “slow-zones” across the system that have angered riders faced with longer commutes and delays.

MBTA Geberal Manager Phillip Eng and Chief Engineer Sam Zhou will present the Rapid Track Improvement Plan for the remainder of this year and 2024.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

On the Boston City Council, Henry Santana is the projected winner of the At-Large seat held by longtime councilor Michael Flaherty, who did not seek reelection, Ben Jacob Weber won the District 6 seat currently held by Kendra Lara, and Enrique Pepen is the projected winner of the District 4 seat that is currently held by Ricardo Arroyo.

In Worcester, Mayor Joseph Petty defeated four challengers to capture his seventh term.

Rhode Island elected Gabe Amo, its first Black representative in Congress.

The former White House aide served in the Obama and Biden administrations, most recently as deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He also served in the administration of former Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo.

Officers responding to a reported shooting on Grand Street around 1 a.m. found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound, according to Worcester police. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name has not been released.

Surveillance video obtained by 7NEWS shows several cars speeding away from the area after shots rang out.

No additional information was immediately available.

Anyone with information is asked to call Worcester police at 508-799-8651.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

The outdoor venue, located at 777 Dedham Street, is the 84th of its kind in the US and gives visitors a chance to swing for some long drives during the winter season.

“One thing as an avid golfer – it’s very sad in the wintertime, not being able to golf,” visitor Brooke Cote told 7NEWS. “There’s a lot of awesome indoor simulators, but this is as real as it’s going to get over the winter, so we are excited it’s here.”

The brand new facility boasts a 200-yard long fairway, as well as a sports bar and restaurant inside.

“You know, you get together with friends, having some food, having some maybe beverages, and enjoying the game of golf,” said Susan Cronin, another visitor.

The director of operations told reporters the facility has been six years in the making.

“We are ready, they are ready, but I’m a little nervous because I know the community’s ready and they’re gonna flood this place left and right and we just need to be ready for them,” John Connolly told reporters.

The Canton location is slated to stay open all winter long, with hours of operation on Fridays and Saturdays lasting until midnight.

More information can be found here.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office and Massachusetts State Police announced the developments Thursday afternoon, hours after officials said troopers found the woman dead in a car in the garage around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The woman has been identified as Margaret Mbitu, 31, of Whitman. Officials said 40-year-old Kevin Kangethe is now wanted for her homicide. 

While authorities have an arrest warrant, Kangethe was not in custody as of Thursday afternoon. Officials said investigators determined Kangethe had boarded a flight to Kenya. 

Sources said Mbitu’s body was not hidden, instead left in the passenger seating area of a vehicle in the parking garage. 

While the police investigation continued, 7NEWS also learned police reviewed security video both in the garage and inside Logan Airport terminals. 

Family members said Mbitu went by the nickname “Maggie.” Her family said they reported her missing after her employer called Tuesday morning and said she had not shown up for her nursing job in Halifax. Missing person posters soon shared online said Mbitu was last seen around 11 p.m. on Monday as she left her workplace.

State police and the Suffolk DA’s office said Kangethe and Mbitu are believed to have known each other, adding this homicide is not believed to have been a random act.

“There is no threat to the public or to Logan Airport travelers,” officials said.

Back in Whitman, family members said they were heartbroken after learning of their loved one’s death.

“She was the most lovely, soft-spoken, beautiful, happy, go lucky kind of girl — the most friendly person we know,” said Mbitu’s cousin, Virginia Ndunga. 

“Obviously, we’re devastated,” Ndunga said. “We love her.” 

Officers responding to a reported stabbing in the area of 1400 Tremont St. around 1:30 a.m. found a victim suffering from life-threatening injuries.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

Police could be seen scouring the area immediately outside and inside of the taped-off restaurant.

No additional information was immediately available.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

The LPGA Tour and FM Global announced Friday they will be stage a new tournament at TPC Boston that will feature a $3.5 million purse, the largest on the LPGA Tour outside of the majors and the tour championship.

The 72-hole event will be called the 2024 FM Global Championship, and it will be held at the Norton, Massachusetts, club from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 with a field of 144 players.

“Boston is quickly becoming a dynamic home for women’s sports,” LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in a statement. “We are thrilled to join this incredible movement, as the famed TPC Boston prepares to host the 2024 FM Global Championship, marking a historic return of the LPGA Tour to New England.”

Boston will also be the home of a new Professional Women’s Hockey League team in 2024 and a new National Women’s Soccer League team in 2026.

“We can’t wait to team up with our newest partner, FM Global, to bring the world’s best female golfers to one of America’s great sports regions,” the commissioner said. “We are truly grateful to FM Global for its commitment to elevating the LPGA and to using our collective platform to inspire, empower and advance young girls and women, on and off the golf course.”

FM Global is one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers.

The 2024 competition will start a five-year partnership between the two organizations, and it marks FM Global’s first major sports sponsorship. Fenway Sports Management helped secure FM Global’s sponsorship of the championship as part of a commercial alliance with the LPGA formed earlier this year.

Mayor Michelle Wu proposed the ordinance back in August. As part of her announcement, Wu layed out a plan to give police the power to remove tents and tarps on public property and roads in cases where people living inside are offered alternative places to live, services, transportation and space to store their belongings. 

Months later, the City Council this week voted 9-3 in favor of approving the ordinance.

City Council President Ed Flynn spoke during a city council meeting Wednesday, detailing his reason for voting “yes.”

“The number one reason is these tents need to come down,” Flynn said. “They’ve been up long enough. We should never have this situation in the city of Boston again.”

Wu is scheduled to speak on Thursday morning about intersecting crises of substance use disorder, mental health issues and homelessness near the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue. 

A city spokesperson, in the meantime, said officials “are grateful to the Council for their partnership in approving this ordinance to help address the public safety of patients, workers, and residents in the area so our teams can continue outreach to individuals in need.”

“City staff and provider partners have been working for weeks to prepare for our plans to reopen Atkinson Street to standard roadway operations and expand citywide outreach for shelter, services, and treatment,” the spokesperson continued, referencing Atkinson Street, which is roughly one block from the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue itself.

While the city council passed the ordinance, it opted to strip away part of the plan that would have levied fines.

“That came up a number of times from different folks,” said City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo on Wednesday. “Now, there’s a verbal warning in place.”

Arroyo continued, saying there had been concern that fines “would follow folks around,” with people not paying fines related to the ordinance. 

The ordinance will now go to Wu’s desk. The ordinance will then take effect one week after it is signed.

Back in January, 2022, the city of Boston brought in bulldozers and dump trucks to remove tents from the homeless encampment at Mass and Cass. Not long after that action, though, the tents were back. 

Wu in August said “so called ‘law enforcement sweeps’ in the past have not been successful.”

“That’s not what we’re trying to replicate,” she said, referencing her new plan.

Among changes, Arroyo said the new ordinance will require that individuals be told they have the right to be transported to shelter.

Developments earlier this year came after many healthcare workers were pulled out of Mass and Cass due to safety concerns. Developments also came as officials eyed the winter months, which will raise the stakes to get people out of tents. 

City Councilors proceeded to debate Wu’s ordinance in the weeks after the mayor’s August announcement, discussing the effectiveness of the plan, among other things.

For a third day Tuesday, authorities looked for Aaron Pennington, pouring through a heavily-wooded area between Gardner and Ashburnham where Pennington’s vehicle was found on Monday.

Heavily-armed officers and police dogs could be seen operating in the area of Camp Collier as part of the search.

“We are operating under the assumption that Mr. Pennington is still alive and on the run,” Gardner Police Chief Eric McAvene told reporters during a news conference.

The 33-year-old Pennington has been missing since Sunday morning, when police responded to a home on Cherry Street and found Breanne Pennington, 30, dead in the couple’s house, having suffered a gunshot wound to the face.

Authorities were first notified after the couple’s children ran to a nearby home, leading to a neighbor calling 911.

As officers continued to sweep through some 400 acres in groups on Tuesday, authorities asked that the public not attempt to join the search effort in-person due to Aaron possibly having a handgun that was missing from the Penningtons’ home.

However, police asked that anyone with access to trail cameras in the area review any footage they might have from the past few days.

“If anybody could look on a trailcam, specifically in the Old County area of Ashburnham, out to the Route 101 area – anybody who hunts these areas, could you check your trailcams, see if anything came across?” McAvene said.

Police previously said they believe Pennington was suffering with mental health issues and took off in his white BMW on Sunday morning.

Authorities said a bow hunter then spotted Pennington’s car some 1,500 feet off the road in Camp Collier on Monday.

“We have the tire tracks, we know where the car went into the woods, into the general area – we’ve gotten some information that’s come in with regards to the car itself,” said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early. “Thank God for that hunter – I don’t know when or where we might have found the car.”

Though the car was recovered, Pennington was nowhere to be found. 

Local officials asked residents in part of Gardner to shelter in place Monday night while crews searched for Pennington. 

“They wanted to go and look inside our camper and make sure that we were safe and everything had been covered,” said area resident Matthew Williams, describing his interaction with law enforcement.

Williams said he had seen authorities going “up and down” as they continued to operate in the area. He continued, saying state police also asked for his family’s smart doorbell camera. 

“We turned over anything that we had,” Williams said.

State police announced shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday that search operations had concluded for the day.

Authorities will now resume the search Wednesday morning with a target area of approximately 175 acres, according to the Massachusetts State Police.

“Simultaneously, detectives continue to pursue leads into Pennington’s whereabouts and the facts and circumstances of the homicide of Breanne Pennington,” state police said. 

While authorities feel they have to be closing in on Pennington, neighbors shared a similar sentiment. 

“It’s more of a tragic incident from what actually started all of this and those children that lost their mother,” Williams said. “So, here we are just dealing with the after effects.” 

“I hope they find him soon just so everybody can get back to normal,” Williams continued.

In addition to Pennington’s history of mental illness and allegedly threatening suicide in the past according to an arrest warrant, authorities have also noted he has military training as a former member of the US Air Force.

He is described as being a white man with blonde hair, blue eyes, who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds. 

Anyone with information on Pennington’s whereabouts is asked to call Gardner police at 978-632-5600.

The Penningtons have four children. Officials this week said the children are safe and in DCF custody.

A GoFundMe set up by family members to support the Pennington children can be found here.

SKY7-HD was over the area Monday evening near Camp Collier on the Gardner/Ashburnham line as police cars, K9 teams, an ambulance and a state police helicopter responded to the area. Nearby access roads were blocked off as authorities continued their search for the husband of 30-year-old Breanne Pennington, who was found dead in Gardner on Sunday.

According to court documents, Pennington was found Sunday morning after police were called to the Cherry Street home she shared with her husband, Aaron.

As their search continued, police previously shared information on a car Aaron is believed to have driven away from the house before Breanne was found. The car seen in Ashburnham on Monday matched the description and license plate number shared by police.

While authorities gathered in Ashburnham, the Gardner Police Department and the Gardner Mayor’s Office on Monday afternoon asked people in the area of Kelton, Wheeler, Raymond and Stone Streets to shelter in place. 

Police were in the area “conducting a search and investigation into a suspected felon,” officials said in a statement shared on social media. 

Officials continued, saying the person “is considered armed and dangerous.”

Authorities lifted the shelter in place shortly before 10 p.m., saying the area had been deemed safe with no threat to public safety after an “exhaustive search.”

Earlier Monday evening, some area residents were seen showing their ID’s to get past police roadblocks. 

“It’s kind of petrifying, to be honest with you,” resident Melissa Zirkle told 7NEWS. “It’s fairly quiet around here. People are friendly. You hardly ever see cops on this road.”

Court documents said police were called after the Penningtons’ four children went to a neighbor’s house on Sunday and said their father was gone. Documents said the children told neighbors their mother was in a room crying. 

When police arrived, documents said, they found Breanne dead in a bed in an upstairs room of the family’s home. Police paperwork separately said Breanne was shot in the face.

“I just wailed — I just wailed,” said Brenda Hull, Breanne’s aunt when speaking with 7NEWS via Zoom.

—

WATCH: Family member describes mother of four killed in Gardner as search for victim’s husband continues

—

Hull said her niece was a loving and devoted mother who built a family with Aaron after meeting him at church.

“Aaron was gentle and kind and good — she loved him, he was a good dad,” Hull said. “There was some breaking down of his mental health, maybe due to stress — lots of stress and genetic predisposition.”

Hull said her niece had rented a place to stay in Texas for her and her children, making the decision to move for her family’s safety. 

“This is a case of a breakdown in our mental health system, and I think we have to start looking at people, even the most gentle people, as having the capacity for violence,” Hull said.

Aaron was a former member of the US Air Force. 

At the crime scene over the weekend, investigators said they found three spent shell casings but no weapons. 

Detectives continued to investigate and said Aaron had driven out of the family’s driveway in a white BMW, likely with a gun.

According to court documents, in addition to noting his history of mental illness, authorities said Aaron Pennington is believed to have threatened to commit suicide in the past.

“Aaron — don’t do harm to yourself, that’s not the answer, you have four children,” Hull said. “Pay your debt, show your children that you’re going to be responsible for your actions.”

Aaron is described as being a white man with blonde hair, blue eyes, who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds. 

In lifting the shelter in place order Monday night, authorities did not say whether Aaron had been located. Officials said a police presence would remain stationed near the site where Aaron’s car was found throughout the night and through the day Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution.”

The car was eventually towed away from the area.

The Penningtons’ four children, ages 2, 5, 7, and 9 were inside the home at the time of the incident on Sunday and were in the custody of the Department of Children and Families as of Monday, according to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.

Anyone with information to help in the current investigation is asked to call Gardner police at 978-632-5600.

MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, who was hired in April by Gov. Maura Healey, announced that an ongoing review determined roughly 50 percent of the Union Square branch and 80 percent of the Medford/Tufts branch will need to be “regauged” to increase the space between the two rails.

Eng said he learned the extent of the problems “recently,” but that other officials at the MBTA were or could have been aware about narrow tracks in 2021, or as early as 11 months before the first portion of the expansion opened to riders.

The problems appear linked to metal plates that connect the rails to the wooden ties that run perpendicular. Those plates — which were pre-installed off site before the rails were delivered to the MBTA — are too close together in many areas, Eng said.

In April 2021, the MBTA received an inspection report from a firm named Terracon warning that tracks in a railyard set to be used for the extension were too narrow, Eng said. It appears that MBTA officials at the time did not view that report as a red flag and did not respond by taking a closer look at the space between rails on actual construction sites.

More than a year later in November 2022 — when the Union Square branch had already opened and the larger Medford branch was about to open — a scan found 29 locations where rails were so narrow that trains would not be able to safely run at full speeds, plus a “significant portion” of tracks where the gauge was tighter than construction standards but not bad enough to warrant slow zones. The T fixed those 29 defects at the time, Eng said.

“There was tight gauge in this yard facility. That was back in April of 2021, We also had other reports in November of ’22 that indicated the widespread need to address more than just these isolated conditions,” Eng said. “Back in April of 2021, it’s my belief that it could have been, it should have been more proactively investigated prior to opening, prior to installing what we’ve done.”

It’s not clear why MBTA officials did not address the issue earlier. Steve Poftak served as MBTA general manager from January 2019 until January 2023, and Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration oversaw the T. 

“Once you identify a problem, it should be brought to everyone’s attention, even if you have a solution. It’s good to know because the sooner you know, the more chance you have to address it before it becomes a much more challenging thing. To fix it as part of the punch list, per se, is more challenging because of the impact to the public,” Eng said. “If you knew in April 2021 you could have proactively avoided this, I think that it’s in everyone’s best interest that is done because you don’t want to install something and only later have to fix it.”

Eng said GLX Constructors, the joint venture of contractors that built the rail expansion, was tasked with presenting a proposal to address the track problems.

He did not say how much the additional work to widen tracks up to construction standards would cost, nor make exact what kind of impact it would have on riders.

“It’s not going to be years, it’s not going to be months. The proposal that we have is weeks, and it’s something that we’re still reviewing,” he said. “Whether it’s this type of repair or others, how do we do it and minimize the impacts to our riders? Whether it’s overnights, whether it’s early access [closures], weekends, we understand the importance of this system, including the extension, to riders and we will make sure that when we have a proposal, we’re talking publicly about this as well.”

Eng suggested GLX Constructors should foot the bill for any additional work, not the T.  A spokesperson said the agency will convene discussions with the builders as part of closing out the contract.

“This is not something that the public should be paying for, not going to pay for,” Eng said.

“The fix is not that difficult. I have faith that they can accomplish that,” he added about GLX Constructors.

Members of the GLX Constructors joint venture include Fluor Enterprises Inc., The Middlesex Corp., Herzog Contracting Corp. and Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc., according to a report about the project from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Eng on Thursday also appointed Maureen McDonough, the MBTA’s chief of capital program support, as acting Green Line Extension Program Manager.

No other senior MBTA or administration officials spoke alongside Eng at a Thursday press conference. Neither Healey nor Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt attended the event.

“I share the public’s frustration and disappointment at the revelation that senior MBTA officials under the previous administration knew about issues with the Green Line Extension tracks years ago and did not disclose them to our administration or address them on their watch,” Healey said in a statement. “The people of Massachusetts deserve better. I applaud GM Eng for uncovering this and taking swift action to hold people accountable and demand a work plan from the contractor to fix the narrow gauges on their own dime. The MBTA is committed to fixing this and delivering the service that riders deserve.”

The problems exploded into public view last month, when the MBTA slashed speeds on about a combined mile of the Green Line Extension to 3 mph because the tracks were too narrow to safely support any faster travel.

Workers repaired those stretches in recent weeks, allowing the T to resume standard speeds across the Green Line Extension.

The project’s construction standards require a width between the rails of between 56 and seven-sixteenth inches and 56 and nine-sixteenth inches, Eng said Thursday. The threshold for slow zones is lower: anything below 56 and one-eighth inches is so narrow that it’s unsafe to run trains at full speed.

Officials said Thursday that although the entire Green Line Extension is above that 56 and one-eighth figure — and therefore able to travel safely at normal speeds — about a half-mile of track on the Union Square branch and 2.7 miles on the Medford branch have rail gauges narrower than 56 and seven-sixteenth inches, falling short of construction standards.

The $2.3 billion Green Line Extension opened in two phases last year to great fanfare and praise for project manager John Dalton. Gov. Charlie Baker claimed it as a victory after the project appeared on the brink of collapse years earlier.

Asked if his predecessors kept the problems quiet for political reasons, Eng replied, “I don’t have any indication of that. All I know is that I believe the team could have been more proactive.”

Nikki Stewart, the executive director of Old North Illuminated, said visitors will see a renovated structure.

“There was a lot of work that needed to be done,” Stewart said, “particularly the repointing of much of the brick structure that folks will see when they visit the tomb.” 

The crypt has 37 tombs which were used for burials back in the 1800s. More than a thousand people are buried in the church. 

Several tombs still had the original wooden doors, which had been covered with plaster. Workers were able to remove those to get the tombs restored.

It also gave archaeologists an opportunity to study the contents of the tombs.

“As we were taking the doors off, obviously some of the contents had shifted over time,” Project Manager Lauren Knollmeyer said. “We just did everything that we could to respectfully put things back in the tomb and not disturb them.”

The last pieces were put into place on Wednesday, and crews are hoping the repairs last for many centuries to preserve those buried in the crypt.

“When you come down here, you will see some of their final resting places,” Stewart said. “I think it does help contextualize and humanize those folks.”

The church’s next project is to build a handicap ramp to go inside the crypt in the coming years.

The new grocery store on Bowdoin Street is Boston’s first community-owned grocery store, giving locals the chance to weigh in on the food allowed in the store. 

The co-op held its grand opening over the weekend. On Tuesday, shoppers shared their thoughts with 7NEWS.

“We want healthy food for the community,” said Michelle Caldera.

“It’s been fun to check it out,” said Kelly Fassett. “I knew it was opening.” 

Plans for the Dorchester Food Co-op have been in the works for more than a decade. 

Speaking with 7NEWS, Co-op General Manager and CEO John Santos said staff meet with community members to determine what should be stocked in the store. Santos said the store will also hire from the community.

With shelves stocked after this weekend’s grand opening, there is a major focus on local, sustainable and healthy food. 

“I’ve just been really impressed by the selection they have,” Fassett said. “It reminds me kind of like a Whole Foods meets Trader Joe’s right in the neighborhood which we really needed.”

“They have a lot of things that I would love — healthy stuff and some snacks too,” Caldera said.

The Dorchester Food Co-op is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Among its offerings, the store also has a cafe where customers can pick up hot food.

The 62-year-old woman, whose name was not released by police, will be summoned to Brockton District Court to face charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, according to East Bridgewater police.

Police say the woman has relatives who live in the area.

Officers responding to a reported crash involving a bicyclist and a motor vehicle in the area of 143 Bedford St. around 5:30 p.m. determined the girl had been struck while riding her bike through a small path that leads from Route 18 to the rear parking lot of Central Elementary School.

Her mother responded to the scene and declined medical transportation on behalf of her daughter.

A friend of the little girl said she heard a screeching sound after the crash.

“The lady got out of the car and asked her if she’s OK and my friend said, ‘Yes,’ and then the lady said go home and take a shower, and then leaves, and I was pretty weirded out by that,” the girl recalled.

The friend said the girl suffered bruises, scrapes and cuts in the crash.

East Bridgewater Police Chief Michael Jenkins thanked area residents who offered tips after seeing video of the incident, during which the girl was pushed some 60 feet while wedged under the front end of the car.

“Without the information provided by the public, we would have had a much harder time reaching a resolution,” he said in a statement.

Anyone with more information on this incident or on the vehicle involved is asked to call East Bridgewater Police at 508-378-7223.

Perez, 47, recently spoke to 7NEWS, saying his decision to leave his family and join the fight is a matter of principle. 

“I’m a person of peace,” Perez said. “I’m not a person of conflict, though I have been to more than a few.”

Perez is a major in the Israeli reserve armed forces. Over the last couple of decades, he has fought both Hamas and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. 

Asked if he is surprised by recent actions of Hamas, he responded. 

“Yes,” he said. “I am surprised. I am shocked. I am horrified and I am very determined to go and give my part in order to stop it.”

Perez is beyond the age where people are called to fight. As a result, he was not called to duty with hundreds of thousands of other reservists. Still, he’s volunteering to serve. 

“This time, I’m too old,” he said. “I’m off the list.”

Perez’s family is living in Cambridge because his wife is getting a degree at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. 

Perez has three sons aged 10, 7 and a baby who is just one-year-old. His wife wants him to stay safe.

“I promised not to do silly things and I promised to take care and I want to keep this promise,” Perez said. “I do think that this help is needed and required. This is what I can do.”

Major Perez has many friends who have lost loved ones or who have people close to them missing in the aftermath of this weekend’s surprise attacks by Hamas

Perez is hoping to do less dangerous work, such as rescues. But he is adamant he needs to grab his rifle and help.

“Life is important and we have to go and save lives and eliminate those who threaten life constantly,” Perez said.

Perez said donations are helping soldiers living in the US catch flights back to Tel Aviv. His flight leaves on Tuesday.

The joyous occasions soon turned nightmarish, though, as she and more than 200 relatives who flew in for the wedding were instead forced to seek shelter as violence broke out in Israel. 

Burkin spoke to 7NEWS on Tuesday while fighting continued between the Israeli armed forces and Hamas militants after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel over the weekend.

Burkin said the family, at one point, had to rush to a bomb shelter on four occasions in the same night. 

“That’s when it just really became real,” Burkin said. 

Burkin’s son and his fiance canceled their wedding as their loved ones scrambled for flights to take them anywhere else.

In downtown Tel Aviv, Burkin said she and her family were initially awoken by sirens and the sound of Israeli Iron Dome interceptors targeting rockets fired by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

Burkin said the family has spent the last few days bracing for impact. 

While the atmosphere was calmer on Tuesday, low rumblings could still be heard in the distance. 

“You can still hear the explosions and some of them felt right next door,” Burkin said. “I hope they weren’t right next door.”

Burkin and her family are relieved to know they’re safe. They are concerned, though, for those who have lost their loved ones.

“It’s just a very sad, somber feeling,” Burkin said. “It feels very uncertain.”

Burkin discussed her experiences in an interview around 2 a.m. local time in Tel Aviv while she was still trying to find flights out of Israel. 

At the time, Burkin said roughly 30 of the approximately 250 wedding guests at this wedding were still trying to rebook their own flights. 

Burkin said she wants the US Embassy in Israel to do more in the current situation.

Thousands gathered on Boston Common Monday, to condemn the attacks and pray for those killed and taken hostage.

“This is horrific,” one person said. “It’s terrifying for everybody here who knows someone, who feels the pain.”

“We haven’t been eating,” said Edita Kaplun, describing her experience in recent days. “We haven’t been sleeping.”

Kaplun has family members and friends in Israel.

“All my friends are texting me, I’ve been checking in with them every day,” Kaplun said. “And, when you don’t hear back from your friends for even an hour, you just kind of freak out and worry that something could have happened to them.”

Religious and community leaders spoke during Monday’s gathering in Boston, affirming the city’s connection to Israel.

“Boston stands with Israel,” one leader said.

“When the Boston Marathon was bombed 10 years ago, the MGH emergency teams had been trained by Israeli counterparts on how to respond to mass casualties,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “That training saved lives in Massachusetts.”

Massachusetts’ congressional delegation has been calling for the federal government to do more. 

On Monday, though, emotions were running hot when Sen. Ed Markey seemed to call for an end to the violence.

“There must be a de-escalation of the current violence,” Markey said. 

Markey’s comments were met with boos.

A short time later, there was a different response from Congressman Jake Auchincloss.

“De-escalation is not possible when they are taking hostages,” Auchincloss said. “And Israel did not ask America to de-escalate on Sept 12th, 2001.”

Meanwhile, in Cambridge, hundreds gathered in support of the Palestinian people caught in the ongoing conflict. 

Organizers said they condemn the killing of innocent civilians on both sides of the war and are mourning the lives lost.

“It’s been too much,” said one person supporting Palestine, Naureen Mowla. “We’ve watched time and time again where there’s no voices heard on one side and you only get one side of the story. So, we want people to know out here that Palestinian lives matter as well.”

The rally and march on Monday drew in students, community members and minority leaders. 

“I feel that what’s been happening to them for decades is horrific — having their land stolen from them, being put in the largest open-air prison in the world in the Gaza strip where they’re fenced in,” said event attendee Mahpowin Monroe.

Many in Cambridge were talking about what is called the Nakba, when Palestinians were forced from their homeland in 1948. Palestinians have lived in displacement ever since. 

The United Nations agency created to serve those displaced people now says there are 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees with more than 1.5 million living in refugee camps. 

Those living in Gaza have been under a blockade for 16 years. 

“It has been blocked from access to basic necessities and under, essentially, no condition that any human being should be made to live under,” said Jeff Rosenberg of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Tensions were high along Massachusetts Avenue near Cambridge City Hall Monday, with Cambridge police keeping Palestinian and Israeli supporters on opposite sides of the street. Hundreds on the Palestinian side soon marched through Cambridge, moving from City Hall, though Central Square and over to MIT. 

Speaking with 7NEWS, people in the area said said this decades long conflict has now reached a critical point.

“Ultimately, any sort of solution needs to require clear dignity and respect for the rights of all people living in Palestine and ensuring that they’re able to determine their own destiny,” Rosenberg said. “Right now, they’ve been denied that for generations.”

Despite high tensions in Cambridge Monday, police said they did not have any reportable arrests related to the rally and march.

In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. In some places, they roamed for hours, gunning down civilians and soldiers as Israel’s military scrambled to muster a response. Gunbattles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns and occupied a police station in a third.

Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 250 people were killed and 1,500 wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in decades. At least 232 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at least 1,700 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza, a deeply sensitive issue for Israel, in harrowing scenes posted on social media videos.

The conflict threatened to escalate to an even deadlier stage with Israel’s vows of greater retaliation. Previous conflicts between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers brought widespread death and destruction in Gaza and days of rocket fire on Israeli towns. The situation is potentially more volatile now, with Israel’s far-right government stung by the security breach and with Palestinians in despair over a never-ending occupation in the West Bank and suffocating blockade of Gaza.

In a televised address Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who earlier declared Israel to be at war, said the military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities and “take revenge for this black day. But he warned, “This war will take time. It will be difficult.”

“All the places that Hamas hides in, operates from, we will turn them into ruins,” he added. “Get out of there now,” he told Gaza residents, who have no way to leave the tiny, overcrowded Mediterranean territory of 2.3 million people.

After nightfall, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza intensified, flattening several residential buildings in giant explosions, including a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Israeli forces fired a warning just before, and there were no reports of casualties.

Soon after, a Hamas rocket barrage into central Israel hit four cities, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb, where two people were seriously injured. Throughout the day, Hamas fired more than 3,500 rockets, the Israeli military said.

In the southern Gaza city of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike late Saturday flattened a home, killing 12 members of the Abu Qouto family, neighbors said. Ten members of a family in the northern town of Jebalya were killed in another airstrike, relatives said. It was not known why the homes were targeted.

The strength, sophistication and timing of the Saturday morning attack shocked Israelis. Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast without resistance from the military.

In some towns, a trail of civilians’ bodies lay where they had encountered the advancing gunmen. On the road outside the town of Sderot, a bloodied woman slumped dead in the seat of her car. At least nine people gunned down at a bus shelter in the town were laid out on stretchers on the street, their bags still on the curb nearby. One woman, screaming, embraced the body of a family member sprawled under a sheet next to a toppled motorcycle; as she was led away, she picked up the dead person’s helmet from the ground nearby.

In amateur video, hundreds of terrified young people who had been dancing at a rave fled for their lives after Hamas militants entered the area and began firing at them. Israeli media said dozens of people were killed.

Associated Press photos showed an abducted elderly Israeli woman being brought back into Gaza on a golf cart by Hamas gunmen and another woman squeezed between two fighters on a motorcycle. Images also showed fighters parading captured Israeli military vehicles through Gaza streets.

Among the dead in Israel was Col. Jonathan Steinberg, a senior officer who commanded the military’s Nahal Brigade, a prominent infantry unit.

The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, Israeli raids inside West Bank cities over the past year, violence at Al Aqsa — the disputed Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews as the Temple Mount — increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinians and growth of settlements.

“Enough is enough,” Deif, who does not appear in public, said in the recorded message. He said the attack was only the start of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” and called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight. “Today the people are regaining their revolution.”

The Hamas incursion on Simchat Torah, a normally joyous day when Jews complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll, revived painful memories of the 1973 Mideast war practically 50 years to the day, in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, aiming to take back Israeli-occupied territories.

Comparisons to one of the most traumatic moments in Israeli history sharpened criticism of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who had campaigned on more aggressive action against threats from Gaza. Political commentators lambasted the government and military over its failure to anticipate what appeared to be a Hamas attack unseen in its level of planning and coordination.

Asked by reporters how Hamas had managed to catch the army off guard, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesman, replied, “That’s a good question.”

The abduction of Israeli civilians and soldiers also raised a particularly thorny issue for Israel, which has a history of making heavily lopsided exchanges to bring captive Israelis home.

Hamas’ military wing claimed it was holding dozens of Israeli soldiers captive in “safe places” and tunnels in the Gaza Strip. Hecht confirmed that a number of Israelis were abducted but would not give a figure, saying only that the number was “substantial.”

If true, the claim could set the stage for complicated negotiations on a swap with Israel, which is holding thousands of Palestinians in its prisons.

An unknown number of civilians were also taken. AP journalists saw four taken from the kibbutz of Kfar Azza, including two women. In Gaza, a black jeep pulled to a stop and, when the rear door opened, a young Israeli woman stumbled out, bleeding from the head and with her hands tied behind her back. A man waving a gun in the air grabbed her by the hair and pushed her into the vehicle’s back seat. Israeli TV reported that workers from Thailand and the Philippines were also among the captives.

In the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, just 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Gaza Strip, terrified residents who were huddled indoors said they could hear constant gunfire echoing off the buildings as firefights continued.

“With rockets we somehow feel safer, knowing that we have the Iron Dome (missile defense system) and our safe rooms. But knowing that terrorists are walking around communities is a different kind of fear,” said Mirjam Reijnen, a 42-year-old volunteer firefighter and mother of three.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu vowed that Hamas “will pay an unprecedented price.” A major question now was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties.

Israel’s military was bringing four divisions of troops as well as tanks to the Gaza border, joining 31 battalions already in the area, the spokesman Hagari said. And the Israeli military later released an Arabic-language video warning Gazans to leave their homes in targeted areas of the dense coastal enclave.

In Gaza, much of the population was thrown into darkness after nightfall as electrical supplies from Israel — which supplies almost all the territories’ power — were cut off. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Israel would stop supplying electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza.

Hamas said it had planned for a potentially long fight. “We are prepared for all options, including all-out war,” the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, told Al-Jazeera TV. “We are ready to do whatever is necessary for the dignity and freedom of our people.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said from the White House that he had spoken with Netanyahu to say the United States “stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop.”

Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks with the U.S. about normalizing relations with Israel, called on both sides to exercise restraint. The kingdom said it had repeatedly warned about the danger of “the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation (and) the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights.”

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group congratulated Hamas, praising the attack as a response to “Israeli crimes.” The group said its command in Lebanon was in contact with Hamas about the operation.

The attack comes at a time of historic division within Israel over Netanyahu’s proposal to overhaul the judiciary. Mass protests over the plan have sent hundreds of thousands of Israeli demonstrators into the streets and prompted hundreds of military reservists to avoid volunteer duty — turmoil that has raised fears over the military’s battlefield readiness.

It also comes at a time of mounting tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, with the peace process effectively dead for years. Over the past year, Israel’s far-right government has ramped up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violence has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there and tensions have flared around a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.

Palestinians demonstrated in towns and cities around the West Bank on Saturday night amid the offensive from Gaza and Israeli retaliation. Palestinian health officials said Israeli fire killed five there, but gave few details.

___

Adwan reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Facing a judge, Nathan Saben pleaded not guilty to a series of charges against him. His bail was set at $100,000 for cash bail or $1 million surety.

Saben and his suspected accomplice, Jessica Tirone were arrested after being found driving a black, 2012 Subaru Outback that Saben allegedly carjacked in New Hampshire.

Police chased Saben and Tirone from Lawrence to Dracut before video showed what appeared to be Saben attempting to steal another vehicle after the Subaru went off of Route 110 in Dracut. The video showed the individual approach a sedan stuck in traffic before police officers tackled the suspect.

Massachusetts state police said Saben was carrying a gun at the time of his arrest. Police released a photo of the gun ahead of Saben’s arraignment.

In court, prosecutors said Saben threatened to take his own life. 

“They observed him observing a black rifle,” a prosecutor said. “The trooper did draw his firearm and gave verbal commands for the defendant to put the rifle down.” 

“Other officers from the Lawrence Police Department were on scene. They verbally attempted to de-escalate,” the same prosecutor continued. “They observed as the defendant put the rifle into his mouth.”

Outside the courthouse, Saben’s former girlfriend had little to say to 7NEWS after saying during the arraignment that Saben needs help.

Saben’s attorney emphasized no one should be jumping to any conclusions. 

“He’s holding up well and wants to fight the case,” the attorney said.

The arrest of Saben and Tirone capped off a week of police searching for the pair, who allegedly committed a string of violent crimes that began last Friday.

Officials previously said Saben ran from police during a drug bust in Seabrook, New Hampshire, on Sept. 29, nearly running over an officer in the process.

On Tuesday, Saben was seen by police in Haverhill, where police chased him until he hit the state line.

That same night, in Salem, New Hampshire, authorities said the suspect tried to carjack two people unsuccessfully before he allegedly held a woman at gunpoint and took off in her car.

Police in Alton, New Hampshire, later confirmed they found the stolen car from Salem in their town on Wednesday.

In addition to identifying Tirone as an accomplice, authorities also said Saben went on to carjack the driver of a Subaru near Old Wolfeboro and Bay Hill roads in Alton, pointing a rifle at the man and forcing his way into the man’s car.

Police said the man was hit by the door of the car as the suspect took off and later hospitalized.

State police said authorities took Saben and Tirone to separate campuses of Lowell General Hospital on Thursday. Saben was eventually booked at the Andover state police barracks after being released.

While Saben subsequently appeared in-person in Lowell District Court, Tirone remained hospitalized at Lowell General-Saints campus on Friday and was arraigned on separate charges from her hospital bed. 

Massachusetts State Police said Saben was booked on charges including armed carjacking, failure to stop for police, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and being a fugitive from justice. Police said Saben is also facing charges related to firearms offenses and other motor vehicle crimes.

If he posts bail in Massachusetts, Saben will need to be fitted with a GPS tracking device. He is due back in court next month.

Saben is expected to face additional charges at some point in New Hampshire.

Authorities have said their investigation in recent incidents allegedly involving Saben and Tirone is ongoing.

Lowell police said officers responded to Grove Street around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday where they spoke with a postal service mail carrier who said an unknown masked person robbed him “while brandishing what he believed to be a firearm.”

Police said the suspect fled the area before police arrived. The mail carrier was not injured, according to police. 

Security video shared with 7NEWS showed the moment a person ran up to the mail carrier’s truck. The person is seen reaching through the window and wrestling with the worker inside for a few seconds. The person is then seen sprinting back down the street before getting into a car and driving away.

Salvatore Balestrieri said the incident happened in front of his house as the postal worker was completing the last delivery of his shift. 

“He looked a little shaken up,” Balestrieri said.

Balestrieri said he asked if the mail carrier was alright. 

“He said, ‘Everything’s fine. I just got robbed,’” Balestrieri said.

“I feel bad for the post office men, you know, they’re getting hit a lot,” Balestrieri continued.

Robberies of postal carriers are surging, according to the US Postal Service, increasing by 78% last year. 

In Lowell, those who live near the site of this latest incident said they hope justice is delivered.

“Hopefully they get him,” Balestrieri said.

Police did not say what was taken in this incident but said their investigation was ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lowell police.

Appearing in court during opening statements, Logan Clegg, 28, faces charges in connection with the deaths of Djeswende and Stephen Reid, who authorities say were shot to death in April of last year while out on a hiking trail.

The retired couple were initially reported missing after they left their home in Concord for a walk on April 18. Their bodies were found days later, setting off an investigation that ended when police arrested Clegg in Vermont in October that year.

According to an affidavit following his arrest, police honed in on Clegg after reviewing witness statements and other evidence – including a reported encounter officers had with a man named “Arthur Kelly” at a tent site the day before officials found the victims nearby.

Police later found the tent torched while “Kelly,” believed to be Clegg giving a false name, was missing.

Clegg was later arrested at a library in South Burlington, VT, on a fugitive from justice charge, as he was wanted in Utah in relation to a felony possession of stolen property case – a 2021 incident for which he was on probation.

Before his arrest, Concord Police had been notified he purchased a one-way plane ticket bound from JFK Airport to Germany. The actions appeared similar to when Clegg fled the country to Portugal as authorities in Utah tried to arrest him in that respective case.

“[At] the end of trial, we are going to ask you to find [Clegg] guilty – guilty of the crimes that he committed,” Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hagaman told jury members in a Concord courtroom on Tuesday, nearly a year after Clegg was arrested.

The prosecution emphasized that there was plenty of evidence against Clegg, and that the defendant lied to police on numerous occasions.

On the defense, an attorney for Clegg maintained the reason he lied to police and ran to another state was because he was on probation at the time, and did not want to communicate with police.

“The wrong man has been charged,” said defense attorney Caroline Smith. “Logan had no connection to the Reids, he had no contact with the Reids, and he did not murder the Reids.”

Clegg has pleaded not guilty to multiple second degree murder charges, as well as multiple charges of falsifying evidence and at least one count firearms-related charge.

The proposal — which would top $1 billion in tax relief by the 2027 fiscal year when fully phased in — includes more than a dozen specific tax proposals, from eliminating the tax for estates under $2 million to increasing the child and dependent tax credit from $180 to $330 per child or dependent in the current tax year to $440 for the 2024 tax year.

Lawmakers say the increased child tax credit will benefit 565,000 families and will be the most generous universal child and dependent tax credit in the country.

The bill would also increase the cap on the rental deduction from $3,000 to $4,000, reduce the tax rate on short-term capital gains from 12% to 8.5% and allow cities and towns to adopt a local property tax exemption to encourage affordable housing.

Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka called the proposal historic.

“It is the largest bipartisan legislative tax relief proposal in over a generation,” Spilka said. “This tax relief bill will help alleviate many, many financial burdens that our families, our seniors, our renters face and put real dollars in their pockets.”

A low-income household with two children will see its tax refund check increase by more than $1,000 if the bill becomes law, she said.

“This is real money,” she added.

House Speaker Ronald Mariano, a fellow Democrat, also praised the bill, in particular the provision that strengthens from $1,200 to $2,400 the maximum senior circuit breaker tax credit, a refundable credit for senior citizens based on real estate taxes or rent paid on residential property owned or rented as a principal residence.

“It’s one of the greatest programs that we’ve ever come up with in my time involved in the state where you can actually get money to stay in your house, even if you don’t pay state taxes,” Mariano said.

The bill is expected to be voted on Wednesday in the House and Thursday in the Senate.

If approved, the next stop is Gov. Maura Healey’s office for her signature.

Healey called tax relief essential for making Massachusetts “more affordable, competitive and equitable.”

“This is a comprehensive package that delivers relief to families and businesses, including through our proposed Child and Family Tax Credit,” Healey said in a written statement. “I look forward to reviewing the details.”

Healey released her own $742 million tax relief package in February. Her proposal would have eliminated the tax for estates valued up to $3 million. Massachusetts is one of just 12 states with an estate tax.

In April, Massachusetts House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved their own $654 million tax relief package, followed by the Senate, which unveiled a $590 million tax relief proposal in June.

The single compromise bill set to be voted on this week would also make changes to a 1986 law designed to limit state tax revenue growth and return any excess to taxpayers. The law triggered nearly $3 billion in refunds last year.

The bill would keep the law but ensure the money is paid out equally among taxpayers, lawmakers said.

—

Originally posted on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 4:13 p.m.

SALISBURY, MASS. (WHDH) – Two people were transported to the hospital after a rip current at a beach in Salisbury prompted an emergency water rescue Wednesday, witnesses said.

Police said they responded to a report of four people, a father and his children, in distress in the ocean at Salisbury Beach just before 1 p.m. Two bystanders stepped into help and pulled the children from the water.

“There were two gentlemen who were in the rental units nearby that went in the water and got the kids out,” said James Leavitt, a Salisbury police sergeant. “What the kids were telling me they weren’t in too far, but enough to where the bystanders thought they were distressed.”

First responders tended to two people who were seriously injured — the father of the children and the man believed to be in his late 20s who tried to save him.

The fire chief said rescuers reached the father 50 to 75 yards off shore.

A witness said the incident began after a teenager yelled for help in the ocean. The father of the children in the rip current then ran into the water to help his son.

“The little boy was saying to the two men, ‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die,’” witness Robin Dinatale said. “The father goes running in, and now he’s with his son, but now he’s screaming, ‘help me, help me.’”

Dinatale, who called 911, said then the two men on the beach ran into help. The Salisbury fire chief released a statement commending the bystanders for helping.

“There were two guys on the beach, really nice guys, and they immediately ran in the water,” Dinatale said.

They were able to get the teenager to land, but one of the rescuers was exhausted and injured.

“He said, ‘I have no breath, I can’t breathe, I’m so exhausted, I can’t move,’ so he was just lying there,” Dinatale said. “They all got out except the father kept drifting way over, yelling, ‘help me, help me.’”

Kate Taylor of North Caroline said it was her boyfriend, 34-year-old Kenny Crosby of Miami, who pulled the 13-year-old boy who was initially in distress.

“Without hesitation, Kenny, my boyfriend, he just ripped off his clothes, took his phone out and ran out there,” she said. “He’s a great, humble guy, but he very much is (a hero).”

Taylor said Kenny was exhausted but was treated and released at the hospital.

The younger children, all aged 10 and younger, waited with officers while they awaited the arrival of their mother, who was not at the beach, said Leavitt.

“The four of them, they’ve been leaning on each other, and they’ve been great, we’ve just been keeping them busy and keeping them occupied until mom got home,” Leavitt said.

The fire broke out on Saratoga Street around 7 a.m. and spread from one building to another, according to the Boston Fire Department. 

Later speaking with 7NEWS, one man said he had been sleeping when he heard alarms going off in his building. He said he saw people jumping out the back of the home. 

“There were people trying to escape out of the third floor,” said Hugh MacIssac, another witness. “There was smoke pouring out of the third floor and dropping people, children, out of the third floor onto the floors below.”

Fire officials said one firefighter was taken to the hospital and was expected to be okay as of Wednesday afternoon. 

Officials said crews also rescued several cats, with 7NEWS spotting one firefighter carrying one cat out of the fire and handing it to a man waiting anxiously nearby. 

As the response continued, some of the people who were displaced were sitting on the sidewalk and trying to get help from the Red Cross. 

Some were able to retrieve salvaged belongings

While many residents said most of their belongings were burned, they said they are glad they’re safe. 

The Red Cross of Massachusetts discussed its response to the East Boston fire in a statement Wednesday, saying it was meeting with people forced out of their homes. 

Officials said they were providing water and snacks and discussing needs for follow up services with clients. 

Board-up crews were at work on Saratoga Street around 12 p.m., where several windows were blown out at the site of Wednesday morning’s fire. 

An MBTA bus was also parked in the area letting displaced people sit inside. 

Board-up crews had later left the scene as of 6 p.m.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

Those looking to support the displaced families can donate new and gently used clothing of all sizes, baby formula, diapers and wipes for nine children from 8 months old to 15 years. Donations can be dropped off at Salesians Boys and Girls Club at 150 Byron Street in Boston, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and BCYF Paris Street in East Boston Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The school district sent a letter to parents Tuesday letting them know upperclassmen on the school’s varsity football team had organized boxing matches between 10th grade students while the players were attending Camp Mataponi in Naples, Maine last month.

Senior Class President Ian Knott said he’s disappointed to learn of the allegations.

“It’s unfortunate to hear,” he said. “This was a very one-off event. Pretty much everyone gets along. I’ve barely heard of any sort of bullying across the school. I was very surprised to hear this.”

The letter from the school says no one was hurt and no coaches were present during the boxing matches.

The letter continued,” Although there were individual students who took a greater lead in orchestrating the hazing/boxing, there were many people involved and the behavior was so widespread and longstanding there is a need to address this behavior with all individuals of the football program and all coaches, both paid and volunteer.”

But Gwen Prater said her son was among the students who participated in the boxing matches and called it a long-standing tradition.

“Things were done safely, boxing gloves were used, no one was coerced or forced into this, opportunities were given to back out and done privately where you wouldn’t be humiliated in front of your friends,” she said.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and Wrentham police were both notified of the allegations.

The district is now requesting leadership, hazing, and bystander training for the coaches and players.

Residents of the building near Oak Square said the retaining wall was recently replaced and several parked cars were damaged when it came down. 

The area of the collapse was still blocked off with caution tape early Tuesday morning and officials had not said how long it would take to make repairs.

Overhead, SKY7-HD showed the scene, with a mix of mud, sand and other debris still piled on cars.

“There’s just a river of mud around the building,” said Wesley Ratliff, who heard the wall come down.

Carla Leite said she was in her apartment with her sliding door open at the time of the collapse. She said she also heard the collapse. 

Leite said the wall was replaced in May and said she is wondering if the people who built it considered drainage and other issues. She told 7NEWS she is also wondering if the collapse had anything to do with new homes being constructed a street over.

“It was really quite incredible to see what happened,” said area resident Marianne Miller.

“I really couldn’t believe it knowing that it wasn’t so long ago that the retaining wall was finished,” Miller said. 

The cause of the collapse remained under investigation Tuesday.

Leite, in the meantime, said she was already trying to figure out whether she’ll be able to get a new car by the weekend when she usually takes care of her 92-year-old mother. 

“Hopefully I can get a new vehicle and get this resolved relatively quickly so that I can help her out,” Leite said.

No further information on the cause of Monday’s collapse was available as of Tuesday afternoon.

More rain on Wednesday sent water cascading down already washed out roadways and triggered a flood watch for much of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island as well as parts of southern New Hampshire. 

And as kids head back to class and the community looks to return to a sense of normalcy, officials say the recovery from flooding may still take months. 

“It’s going to take a long time to have this all fixed up,” said Leominster resident Ann Godfrey.

Floodwaters rose fast on Monday, ultimately washing out roads and damaging homes, businesses and city facilities. 

First responders from numerous state and local agencies rescued residents from flooded homes. As the sun then rose on Tuesday morning, several roads remained closed due to sinkholes and other damage.

Near Hamilton Street in Leominster, railroad tracks still hung over a washed out culvert on Wednesday. 

Asked if he had ever seen anything like the scene before him, one DPW worker responded. 

“No,” he said. “Never in my lifetime.” 

A total of 11 inches fell over five hours in some places Monday night, prompting a state of emergency declaration from city officials. 

On Tuesday night, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey officially announced her own state of emergency declaration aimed at expediting relief efforts in the Leominster area and in the North Attleboro area, which was also hit hard by flooding on Monday. 

Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella on Wednesday said city schools will open with a two hour delay Thursday after two days of canceled classes due to flooding. 

Mazzarella also said city crews had been able to open up one lane on some previously closed streets as of Wednesday morning.

The process of fully opening streets including Mechanic Street and Hamilton Street, though, could take additional time.

“It could be weeks before we can get those areas open,” Mazzarella said.

While crews worked to clear and repair roads, water was draining slowly in the basement of Advance Auto Parts in Leominster on Wednesday. 

Other businesses were continuing their cleanup efforts after they faced feet of water just days earlier.

Along storm-damaged train tracks, heavy equipment was brought in to support work to restore regular Commuter Rail train service, which has been replaced by shuttle buses for part of the MBTA’s Fitchburg Line in recent days. 

7NEWS recently spoke with the owner of the car, who said he watched the scene unfold Monday night behind his multi-family home off Central Street. 

“It’s devastating,” said Leominster resident Moses Dejene. “I’m still absorbing this.” 

Dejene said water started pooling in his parking lot Monday evening. As time went on, he said, the asphalt bucked, creating a huge crater. 

The water then broke through Dejene’s fence, taking his car with it. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this before and it’s unfortunate,” he said. 

The car was swept away until it stopped in a creek more than a hundred feet from Dejene’s parking lot. 

On Wednesday, Dejene was still in disbelief about the car and other damage, including a sinkhole near his home. 

“It’s a huge concern,” he said. “I actually have not been able to sleep the past two days.” 

“Two weeks, three weeks, a month from now — hopefully this will be resolved and we can go on with our regular life,” he continued. 

Despite the destruction, Dejene said he is thankful his family of four is safe. 

“It’s too much to take in, honestly,” he said. 

“One thing I got to say is Leominster, the community is coming together,” Dejene said. “They’re very resilient.” 

Cleanup efforts continued across Leominster in homes, businesses and along local infrastructure on Wednesday even as more rain hit the region. 

Gov. Maura Healey has declared a state of emergency in response to flooding in the Leominster area and communities around North Attleboro, which was also hit by flash floods on Monday. 

While local officials in Leominster said they made progress in opening some lanes on some roads, officials on Wednesday also said it could take additional time to fully open some damaged and blocked streets.

Worcester, Framingham, Swampscott and Reading public schools announced that they are releasing their students early due to the heat.

Temperatures are expected to surpass 90 degrees in many spots. Eying the forecast, many officials said they are trying to keep children safe in the early days of the 2023-2024 school year. 

“The temperatures in many classrooms are expected to be too hot for teachers to teach effectively,” the Lowell Public Schools said in a statement announcing its closure. “This decision was made out [of] concern for the health and safety of Lowell Public School staff and students.”

In Worcester, where most public schools do not have air conditioning, schools are set to dismiss students three hours early on Thursday and Friday. There will be no half-day preschool.

All Worcester Public Schools athletics games will be canceled on Wednesday and Thursday and team practice schedules may change. Officials said they were evaluating whether to cancel games for Friday as of Wednesday afternoon.

Only 10 of Worcester’s 45 schools have air conditioning, and high temperatures can cause confusion and a lack of energy.

Practices both indoor and outdoor can only be held before 6 a.m. or after 6 p.m. in line with Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association guidelines.

Framingham public schools will also dismiss students early on Thursday. Evening activities will be canceled, the school district announced. 

Back in Worcester, some parents told 7NEWS they think early release is a good idea. Others said the move represents an inconvenience. 

“Their hands are tied,” said parent Joelle Dupris. “The kids have to be in school a certain amount of time and we need to save our snow days for the winter.”

“They tell us last minute, so what about all these parents that work?” said parent Calli Hess.

There will be a heat advisory in effect for much of southern New England through Thursday, warning of feels-like temperatures up to 99 degrees. 

While the heat which arrived earlier this week is expected to peak on Thursday, it will likely linger on Friday before high temperatures fall back into the 80s and 70s over the weekend into next week.

Follow the latest school closings and delays here.

The crash at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Essex Street around 7:15 a.m. was recorded on surveillance camera and the video shows a speeding black SUV blow through the intersection and slam into the side of another vehicle before going off the road.

The crash came hours after a person told police a masked male stole his car at gunpoint around 8 p.m. Monday, police said. 

In a statement, Lynn police said officers spotted the suspected stolen vehicle and tried to conduct a traffic stop at 7:13 a.m. Tuesday. After initially stopping, police said the vehicle fled, leading officers on what police described as a “brief pursuit” before the crash.

“Two parties fled the suspect vehicle on foot and were apprehended by responding officers,” police said.

Lynn Teacher Union President Sheila O’Neil said the injured woman was Amber Fournier, a teacher on her way into work for a professional development day.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends and our colleagues are all thinking and praying for her quick recovery,” O’Neil said.

Police said the two people taken into custody were a juvenile male from Haverhill and 22-year-old Leanna Rockwood, of Boston.

Rockwood is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Lynn District Court on charges including receiving a stolen motor vehicle, disorderly conduct, and possession of a class B drug.

The juvenile was charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, failure to stop for police, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, marked lanes violation, failure to stop/yield, leaving the scene of personal injury, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He was also taken to a hospital. 

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

The Boston Fire Department said crews were first called to 37 Holiday St. where flames burned through the back of a house and extended to a building next door on Monday afternoon.

On the department’s Twitter account, officials said several rear porches in the back of the home at 37 Holiday Street collapsed as a result of the fire.

Authorities also shared photos from the scene, including an image of crews spraying down the back of the house, which appeared to be burnt out with remnants of the porches and back wall visible.

At least 15 ladder trucks were spotted on scene at one point during the emergency response.

In an update just before 4:15 p.m., the Boston Fire Department said the fire was knocked down.

Later speaking with reporters, fire officials said two buildings were considered total losses as a result of this fire. Other buildings sustained heat damage, with charred or melted siding in some spots.

Five houses down from the site of the fire, area resident Mac Brown said he saw smoke and quickly ran to help. 

“All you saw was black smoke,” he said. “Thick black smoke”

“We all bum-rushed the door to get it open,” Brown said. “…We banged and yelled and banged and yelled. It was about eight or nine people trying to get in and get people out.”

One firefighter was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons, officials said. 

While everyone inside the impacted buildings at the time of the fire was able to get to safety, officials said four pets were missing as of around 6 p.m.

Among the people who were displaced, one woman said she ran out of her house with her brand new puppy once she realized conditions were deteriorating. 

“It just felt so surreal,” the woman said. “The fire was just so intense. It was just crazy.”

One man told 7NEWS he lived with his wife and two children on the third floor of one of the now-charred buildings. 

“I just saw a bunch of smoke,” the man said. “As soon as I saw it, I knew it was on my street. And I came to look and that’s when I realized it was my house.” 

As part of their response, firefighters were seen breaking windows and using drones to survey the damage from above. 

“Thank God there wasn’t a lot of wind today,” said Boston Deputy Fire Chief Rodney Marshall. 

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the speed of the emergency response Monday “really prevented a lot of additional damage.” 

Fire officials said the Red Cross and the Boston Cabinet of Community Engagement were helping displaced people find housing as of Monday evening.

The cause of this fire remained under investigation.

Officers responding to a reported shooting in the area of 477 River St. around 12:46 a.m. Monday found a person suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound outside Macumba night club, according to Boston police. A second victim took themselves to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to the Boston Police Department, while authorities were responding, a witness approached an officer and described a suspect that ran from the area with a firearm.

Police then went on to approach a group of individuals who immediately attempted to flee the scene, leading to a foot pursuit with one of the suspects dropping a handgun in the process.

Officers were able to arrest at least one of the fleeing suspects, recovering another handgun from their waistband.

The individual, Regan Feliz, 29, of Jamaica Plain, has since been charged with several firearms-related charges. He is expected to later be arraigned in Dorchester District Court.

State and local police, as well as personnel from the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office could be seen on South Main Street as of around 3:30 p.m., with a number of police cruisers spotted and caution tape in place around Hajj Auto Service.

According to Cohasset Chief of Police William Quigley, it was around 12:40 p.m. when a man rushed from the auto body shop to the nearby police station while carrying his injured grandson and seeking help.

Quigley said the child had a serious head injury and was soon taken to South Shore Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“At this point, there doesn’t appear to be anything nefarious,” Quigley told reporters Thursday afternoon. 

Quigley described the incident as a tragedy and asked locals to keep the family in their thoughts. 

“This is a family that’s been in town, has had this garage in town for many years, and at this point, I’d ask the residents in town to get behind these folks – it’s clearly a difficult time for them and they should be in everybody’s prayers,” he said.

Officials said the cause of the boy’s injuries appeared to be an accident, saying the grandfather, a co-owner of the auto body shop, had been working with a piece of construction equipment in a back lot when the child was injured.

Authorities were seen taking photos of the area around a small front end loader with its cab roof extended in the upright position Thursday afternoon. While they worked, investigators were seen focusing their attention, in part, on a yellow bucket on the ground as they looked into whether the bucket somehow fell on the young boy.

Police said the child who died was set to turn three in September. 

Speaking with 7NEWS, area business owner Mel McLaughlin said the grandfather in this incident frequently had his grandson in tow, teaching him lessons to carry through life. 

“He just loved him,” McLaughlin said. “You could see it in his eyes.”

McLaughlin owns the Barrel Country Market across the street from Hajj Auto Service. 

“It’s a tragic event that happened,” she said. 

In addition to the young child, police said an ambulance was called for one other person who reportedly had chest pains after witnessing what had happened to the child. Police also said one officer needed to be sent home.

—

WATCH: Authorities provide update on death investigation of a 2-year-old child in Cohasset

Police said officers responded around 3:30 a.m. after receiving reports of people breaking into and stealing cars at a used car dealership on Acton Street. Once on scene, police said, officers found several cars blocking the road as vehicles left the area. 

Police said officers later activated their emergency lights and tried to stop one apparently stolen vehicle after they saw it driving down Route 27 and turning the wrong way onto Main Street in Maynard. Instead of stopping, police said the driver sped away before crashing in the area of 217 Main Street and running from the crash site on foot. 

Maynard police said other area law enforcement agencies as well as state police joined in a search for the driver but were unable to find them. 

Police separately shared video of the crash captured on a home security camera, showing the car spinning down Main Street. A person can then be seen running away from the crashed car as police arrive on scene.

Citing a preliminary investigation, police on Wednesday afternoon said investigators determined between eight and 10 suspects arrived in Maynard with five vehicles stolen from Leominster and Sudbury. 

Of the vehicles, police said several were recovered in Worcester, Fitchburg and Maynard on Wednesday morning while others remained missing later in the day. 

Speaking with 7NEWS, area resident Estuardo Salgureo said he has lived in Maynard for years and never seen anything like this crash. 

“I can walk my dogs in the middle of the night,” he said. 

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” he continued. 

Police have asked anyone with information or surveillance video footage from Wednesday morning in the areas of Brown Street or Main Street to contact officials by phone at 978-897-1011 or by email at tmanchuso@maynardpolice.com or jmorahan@maynardpolice.com.

The dodgeball tournament ran with the goal of strengthening the partnership between the school engagement unit and BPS safety specialists, as described in a press release from the Boston Public Schools. 

“Although we’re adults, inside there’s always that inner child, and what better way than to just let it go, relax and just be ready for the school year,” said Boston Public Schools Engagement Unit Commander Juana Hernandez. 

As officials got out of uniform and hit the court, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and Boston Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper joined in. 

“This is, to me, a good celebration of fun and joy, of coming together,” Skipper told reporters. 

“Sometimes, we forget that life is also about enjoying each other’s company and having fun,” Cox said. “All our jobs are hard. But to come together and laugh and joke — I think it’s really good.”

With the first day of school around the corner in Boston, officials said the act of bringing Boston police and the Boston Public Schools helps promote their mission for the new year — keeping children safe. 

Now, moving forward, Boston police and school officials said they hope to do more events like Wednesday’s dodgeball tournament.

A preliminary investigation suggests the 51-year-old Winthrop man was operating a Komatsu forklift in an outdoor loading area behind Gate C26 around 3:20 p.m. when he tried to drive through a bag service entrance and hit the beam, causing the forklift to tip over on top of him, according to state police.

The man was an employee of a JetBlue sub-contractor. His name has not been released.

At JetBlue employee who heard the crash and several other co-workers rushed to the man’s aid and used an aircraft tow bar to lift the forklift enough to pull him out from underneath.

He was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

The Rockland Police Department said calls for a main break on Weymouth Street first came in around 6:40 a.m., where water began to accumulate and caused a sinkhole to open up.

According to police, a driver ended up crashing into the opening when trying to maneuver through the water in an SUV.

No injuries were reported and the vehicle was later towed as repair work got underway. Water service was also stopped for local businesses as public works crews arrived at the scene.

Officials say the road work will likely take up most of the day. No timeline on when water service would be restored has been released yet.

Troopers responding to a reported crash on the southbound side of the highway determined the crash started when two vehicles collided near Exit 7. 

Police said the collision sent the driver of a white SUV, a 61-year-old Providence man, across the median before colliding with a black sedan that was heading northbound.

The driver of the black sedan, later identified as Randall Rickets, 58, was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital, according to police.

The driver of the white SUV was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Two occupants were also transported to Rhode Island Hospital and are in stable condition.

Police say the other driver involved fled the scene.

Soon after, Joseph Pompei, 50, was located by state troopers and arrested on charges of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in personal injury, according to state police.

He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Attleboro District Court.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Officers responding to a reported single-vehicle crash on Puritan Road around 6 p.m. say the driver, Korey Ouelette, of Salem, died of his injuries, according to police.

The crash remains under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division, as well as the Massachusetts State Police Accident Reconstruction Team.

A man who tried to render aid to the victim said he did what he could to help him after the crash.

“I smashed the back window and unlocked the doors … I just held his head and there’s nothing you can do,” he said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Large white tents could be seen outside of a home on Fairfield Street around 12 p.m. Overhead, SKY7-HD spotted personnel coming in and out of the address.

The tents were later taken down and the scene was clear as of 6 p.m. 

An FBI spokesperson in a statement to 7NEWS confirmed personnel were performing “court-authorized law enforcement activity at that address” but declined to comment further. 

Throughout the day, investigators wearing white jumpsuits were spotted searching every level of the home, including its basement and attic. At one point, investigators came out of the house carrying bags containing what appeared to be bottles.

Neighbors who spoke with 7NEWS said the family that lives at the address mostly keep to themselves. There had been a bad fire at the home years ago, according to neighbors, though, so the family was doing lots of work. 

With federal agents on scene, neighbors said they were shocked by the situation.

“It’s unnerving to see so much activity without knowing what’s going on,” said neighbor Lana Bornstein. “With the tents and the dogs and the hovering helicopter, that’s a lot.” 

No further information was immediately available Wednesday evening and no one answered the door when 7’s Rob Way approached the home at the center of this search after investigators left. 

Two people were later seen running out the front of their home and into their car before taking off down the street.

Elsewhere in the area, some said this situation made them think of recent crimes in Newton. 

“It looked like what happened with the triple murder when you see the tents,” Bornstein said, referencing a June incident that left three elderly people dead in a home on Broadway Street in Newton. “It’s just very scary and unnerving.”

“When we first saw the police presence, our concern was ‘Oh no, another tragedy,’” said neighbor Roger Lehrberg. “This seems to be a run of the mill criminal investigation. You give the benefit of the doubt to whoever lives here.”

Police said a crew of eight people was putting the wall up on the second floor of a home on Dunster Road Wednesday morning when it reportedly fell on several workers sometime before 7:35 a.m.

Authorities said that, of the five workers injured, at least one was left in critical condition and another had serious injuries after the accident. Three others were believed to have minor injuries.

“Upon arrival, first responders discovered multiple people trapped under a wall, with a bystander administering lifesaving first aid,” a joint statement from the Bedford police and fire departments, as well as Interim Town Manager Colleen Doyle said.

At a news conference, officials said that, based on a preliminary investigation, the crash may have occurred due to the workers being unable to handle the weight of the wall.

“The collapse occurred when eight workers were attempting to raise a gable wall as part of a major rehab project in a residential building,” said Interim Bedford Fire Chief Paul Sheehan. “First impressions by our building department are that improper procedures may have been used, but OSHA will make the official determination.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Wednesday confirmed to 7NEWS that it is investigating this incident. 

In addition to Bedford police and firefighters, OSHA inspectors could be seen at the construction site reviewing the scene throughout the morning.

Chief Paul Sheehan said one firefighter received minor injuries during the response but was expected to be OK.

Speaking on Wednesday, neighbors said the owners of the home where this incident happened are adding a garage and a second-story family room in one of several renovation projects on their street. 

“You don’t expect anything like this,” said neighbor Ken Malsky. 

7NEWS attempted to contact the contractor working on the project involved in this incident but was told the contractor had nothing to say.

Wegmans in its statement said the issue impacted credit card transactions on Aug. 16. 

Wegmans said the issue did not affect EBT and debit cards transactions unless those transactions were processed as credit transactions at a customer’s request. 

There are currently five Wegmans stores in Massachusetts, including locations in Burlington, Chestnut Hill, Medford, Northborough and Westwood. 

The chain this week said it is working with its processor to reverse the inadvertent charges from Aug. 16, adding “Customers who have not already seen the charges reversed should see the duplicate charges refunded in the upcoming days.”