Officials with the DA’s office said the victims were found early Thursday morning after officers were called to Central Square around 12:30 a.m.

According to authorities, while responding to 10 Magazine St., officers found two individuals suffering from gunshot wounds near a black Tesla in the roadway.

Both were taken to a Boston hospital where one of the victims, described as a 27-year-old female, was pronounced dead, while the other, a 26-year-old male, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

“It was really scary,” said a witness who lives nearby, who told 7NEWS she was woken up by the sound of gunshots outside her home. “I looked out from my window a few minutes later and I saw all of the police cars coming.”

“It’s horrifying – I feel sick about it,” Pam Curtis, a resident of 30 years, told reporters. “It’s upsetting – I raised my son here, we have people in the neighborhood with kids.”

“We walk through there every day and you don’t think anyone’s carrying a gun,” said resident Chris Brokaw.

As an investigation into the shooting continues, the DA’s office asks anyone with information contact the Cambridge Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit, or submit tips anonymously at 617-349-3370 or online at cambridgepolice.org/TIPS.

The Boston Police Department said the arrest came after officers heard the sound of a dog crying while walking in the area of Boston Common on Tuesday around 8:40 p.m.

According to the department, a passerby told police that a woman was beating a dog near 131 Tremont St., leading to officers responding to the area and coming across the suspect, who they reportedly observed kicking the animal.

“Officers were able to quickly separate the suspect from the dog, and moved the dog to a safe location as there was broken glass and unknown liquid on the ground,” Boston PD stated in a news release.

Police went on to investigate the incident further and spoke with witnesses who claimed to have seen the woman strike the dog “multiple times,” with officers learning she allegedly struck the dog with a glass bottle at one point, in addition to kicking and punching it.

A student who saw the alleged beating said the scene broke his heart.

“She was screaming at the dog, saying ‘Shut up, shut up, shut up,'” said Felipe Giesteira. “…Seeing a person actually do such a thing with an animal, especially a service dog, which is there to help her, [I’m] just heartbroken.”

Keith Brewer also witnessed the incident and said he could not believe what he saw. 

“Just terrible to witness and to hear the dog howling in pain every time that she hit him,” Brewer said. 

Brewer continued, saying he comforted the dog after police arrived. 

“The dog came to me and kind of backed into me as I crouched down and was very calm considering what happened,” he said.

The individual, Jasmine Velasquez, was arrested and charged with animal cruelty as well as assault and battery on a police officer. Officials later said the assault charge came about after the suspect allegedly spat at an officer while being booked.

Velasquez appeared in court Wednesday morning, where the prosecution said the animal kicked was her service dog.

“Ms. Velasquez hit the dog with an open right hand one time, hit the dog with a glass bottle eleven times, and kicked the dog three times,” said prosecutor Samuel Jones.

During the arraignment, officials also detailed how the 26-year-old told police she had been bitten by the dog before admitting to officers that she had kicked it.

An attorney for Velasquez said the defendant lives at the Pine Street Inn and has a four-month-old child who is in state custody. The attorney said Velasquez fractured a bone in her leg last year and needs a service dog to help her walk.

“She’s still recovering and she still has balance and ambulation issues with respect there, too, so that’s why she has the service dog,” said defense attorney Denise Moore. “She has some psychological issues, but she’s dealing with them and she’s compliant with her medication regime.”

Velasquez was ordered held on $1,500 bail.

The police department said the dog, described as a male Australian Cattle Dog named “Rocky,” was later taken in by Animal Control services. Details on the dog’s condition were not released.

Witnesses, in the meantime, said they just want what is best for the dog. 

“I just hope that the dog can find a family that loves him,” Giesteira said.

The Patriots Foundation teamed up with Goodwill for the event with the goal of helping more families put dinner on the table. 

Speaking with 7NEWS, event attendees shared their gratitude. 

“I think it’s very wonderful,” said Gigi Fedna. “Especially out here, sometimes, families are struggling.” 

“It’s definitely a helping hand,” Fedna said. 

Two hundred families ultimately lined up at the Morgan memorial Goodwill headquarters in Roxbury to score a thanksgiving basket hand-delivered by a Patriots player.

“It means a lot for us to be able to be out here and make a difference,” said Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott. 

“It shows they care,” said event attendee Famara Jane. 

This marked the 30th year the New England Patriots Foundation has teamed up with Goodwill to give back for Thanksgiving.

It was the first time since 2019, though, that Patriots players were able to meet families in person.

“I realize, if we have our health and we have good friends and good relations and we can pay our bills, how we should give the good Lord thanks,” said Patriots owner Robert Kraft. 

“Any chance we can to give back and be part of something like this, especially around the holidays, it means a lot,” said Patriots center David Andrews.

This latest event came as Goodwill is seeing increased hunger needs in the community. 

Many families, according to Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries President and CEO Joanne Hilferty, are dealing with increased prices and “aren’t really in the position to be able to purchase a full Thanksgiving dinner.” 

“It just doesn’t fit in their budget,” Hilferty said. 

With prices in mind, those in attendance Tuesday said events like this one help a lot for the holidays. 

“This is a big help for my household,” said attendee Santa Mauricio. 

Goodwill has been doing distributions like the one on Tuesday for more than 100 years. 

Goodwill officials said they are thankful to partners like the Patriots for playing their part.

Officers conducted a well-being check on Summer Street around 11 a.m. after getting a 911 call from a relative of Barbara Cruz, 77, of Tiverton, Rhode Island, when she heard shouting and then the phone disconnected, according to a statement issued by the Bristol District Attorney’s Office.

When officers arrived they found two deceased gunshot victims and an uninjured 84-year-old woman.

A preliminary investigation suggests Omar Bradley, 72, who had been living at the home with the 84-year-old woman, shot and killed the 84-year-old woman’s sister and then himself, according to the release. The deceased sister has been identified as Cruz.

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

The crash happened in the Elm Square area of Andover back in May. Olson’s parents spoke to 7NEWS on Friday, remembering their daughter and discussing their efforts to prevent similar tragedies. 

“I want Sidney’s life to really have meaning and for us, we think about her every day,” said Sidney’s mother, Mary Beth Ellis. “She’s in our hearts every day.” 

“I miss her hug attacks,” said Sidney’s father, Eric Olson. “She would just jump up and wrap around me and I would do anything for that.”

Sidney’s parents have created a charity in her honor. Dubbed the Sidney Mae Olson Rainbow Fund, the organization is a new partner of Andover’s annual Feaster Five Road Race, which will feature a colorful display paying tribute to Olson on Thanksgiving next month. 

The annual kids race on Thanksgiving day will also now be called “Sidney’s Rainbow Run,” recognizing the little girl who asked for a rainbow birthday party this year to include all her friend’s favorite colors.

“That was just who she was,” Eric Olson said. “I mean, she was just pure love and joy.”

“We really want to see Sidney’s spirit make an impact on the world and we’re sort of dedicating our lives to that,” Eric separately said. 

Prosecutors announced Friday that the driver of the truck involved in the crash that killed Sidney will not face criminal charges. 

Speaking later in the day, Eric Olson shared his thoughts. 

“The fact that truck was where it was, that it didn’t have the safety features that it needed, that the intersection had problems, that’s all changeable,” he said. 

The Sidney Mae Olson Rainbow Fund now aims to support children’s access to education, sports and road safety, working to raise awareness over pedestrian safety.

Ellis said the charity is working on these topics “so that this doesn’t happen to another family and they don’t have to sign their daughter’s death certificate.” 

“We can’t bring Sidney back,” Ellis said. “But we can work, do our best and work to prevent any other children from being hit in an intersection.”

Moving forward, Sidney Olson remains a colorful spirit living on through the eyes of her parents and in the heartbeat of her community. 

“We’ve got kind of a band rainbow warriors that are out there and we’re just super grateful for that,” Eric Olson said.

The upcoming race now named for Sidney Olson is scheduled for Thursday in downtown Andover

Sunday, meanwhile, is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Sidney’s family said they are hoping people remember these victims are far more than just a number.

The T published a new analysis of the quality of its trains, tracks, signals, construction equipment and other assets, confirming the dire state of the system that is widely understood but has not been quantified in four years.

Nearly two-thirds of all MBTA assets are not in a state of good repair, and it would cost $24.5 billion to fix all of those issues, the agency concluded in its latest assessment. That figure includes the costs only of addressing current problems, not regular maintenance for infrastructure in a state of good repair nor expansions, electrifications and other large-scale projects.

The new estimate is nearly two and a half times more expensive than the last capital needs assessment produced in 2019 under the Baker administration. Officials said the sharp increase is driven by a combination of factors including stinging construction inflation and MBTA assets aging faster than they are being replaced.

MBTA General Manager Phil Eng told agency overseers the estimate is a “snapshot in time of our assets” and what it will take to bring them all to a state of good repair.

“The MBTA is one of the oldest transit agencies in the country, and while there are a number of contributing factors, it’s clear that years of underinvestment have added to the cost of bringing our system back to a state of good repair,” Eng said in a statement alongside release of the analysis, adding that his team is “committed to aggressively addressing our immediate needs.”

Officials also updated their methodology this time around. As a result of changes to the T’s asset management systems, the latest study factored 83,683 individual assets into its cost estimate, compared to 59,073 assets in 2019.

Infrastructure not in a state of good repair is past its useful life and incurs more costs to maintain and operate, but MBTA officials said the state of good repair is not a direct reflection of asset safety.

The highest share of poor conditions is on the T’s subway and trolley tracks. Nearly 90 percent of those stretches — some of which have been unable to support full-speed travel for months due to unaddressed defects — are outside a state of good repair, representing $2 billion in costs, according to the T’s assessment.

About 35 percent of facilities are not in a state of good repair with a total cost of $6.4 billion, the largest single-area price estimate. Other major categories include power systems (76 percent out of good repair, $5.1 billion in cost), trains and trolleys (55 percent out of good repair, $2.4 billion in costs) and structures (22 percent out of good repair, $5.3 billion in costs).

MBTA officials based their estimates on asset conditions in 2021.

Kate Dineen, president and CEO of the A Better City business group, described the report as “confirmation of what was already clear to T riders and supporters — the MBTA is suffering from a legacy of underinvestment and needs more funding to get the system back on track.”

“Now, the Administration, elected officials, and advocates must come together to develop an actionable plan to identify new sources of revenue to address this critical backlog, as well as the investments needed [to] modernize, decarbonize, and fortify our system from the worsening impacts of climate change,” Dineen said in a statement.

The astonishing bottom line could rip open a new round of debate about how the state funds the MBTA. While lawmakers have steered large sums of one-time funding to the agency to assist with safety improvements, the T has chronic operating budget problems and officials there project they will face a budget shortfall of up to $139 million in fiscal year 2025, which begins July 1, that will then rise to as much as $543 million by FY28.

The nearly $25 billion in state of good repair needs is roughly nine times the MBTA’s fiscal year 2024 operating budget, more than two and a half times the size of the agency’s five-year capital investment plan, and about 44 percent as big as the entire state budget for fiscal year 2024.

Monica Tibbits-Nutt, a former MBTA overseer whom Gov. Maura Healey this week officially named transportation secretary, had funding on her mind during her first public appearance Wednesday, one day before the T released its long-awaited study.

“The amount of money that is coming from the Legislature is not enough. And I don’t think that that’s even a controversial thing to say; that’s just simple math. It isn’t enough,” Tibbits-Nutt said Wednesday. “So how do we get enough money for it? Because we cannot make that money contingent on, ‘Oh, well, the service needs to be this level of quality, you need this level of on-time performance to get that money.’ Because you can’t achieve that if you don’t have that money. You put the T in a difficult position where they can only lose, because there’s no winning that way.”

The school told Gabriela Gomes her son’s consent form was overlooked. Speaking with 7NEWS, Gomes recently shared her reaction. 

“I’m traumatized since that happened,” she said. 

Gomes’s 21-year-old son Sean goes to Boston Community Leadership Academy, which held a vaccine clinic in October. 

Gabriela Gomes said she checked off “no” on Sean’s flu shot consent form. Her selection of “no” on the consent form should have exempted her son from getting the vaccine. But, after the clinic, she was surprised to find Sean holding his arm, only to learn he had been vaccinated. 

“For him to get a needle without me there — I’ve seen what happens,” Gabriela said. “He goes out of breath. He panics and it shouldn’t have been done without me, period.” 

“It did hurt,” Sean said. 

Asked by his mother if he was scared, Sean responded.

“Yeah, I was,” he said. 

After meeting with Gabriela, school administrators wrote a letter to her admitting to their mistake. Gabriela also said the school told her it would follow up with parents about consent forms in the future.

In a statement to 7NEWS, the Boston Public Schools said it “has since developed protocols to ensure that all consent forms are thoroughly reviewed when vaccines are offered to students.” 

Gabriela, though, believes there is no excuse for what happened to her son. 

“I feel very violated, like they took his rights away,” she said. 

Gabriela is now raising her voice for other parents of children with autism who may need someone to speak up for them. 

“As an autism mother, we speak for our kid. That’s my son and I speak for him and, like I said, he said ‘no’ too,” she said. “His voice should’ve been heard beside me.”

The family landed at Logan Airport Tuesday afternoon and shared their story. 

“You don’t know if you’re going to make it or not,” said Hazem Shafai. 

The Shafai family embraced in emotional hugs as they stepped foot back in the United States. 

Speaking with reporters, Shafai said the family would probably still be in Gaza “if they didn’t put the effort into getting us out.”

Shafai, his wife Sanaa and their three children had been visiting family in Gaza when the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October. 

“We basically woke up around 6 o’clock to rockets and Iron Domes,” Hazem Shafai said. “We were right in the middle of it. It’s a scary thought. Scary feeling.” 

On the ground in Gaza, the Shafai family said, fresh water and food isn’t available. The family said civilians are starving. 

“It’s hard,” Hazem said. “It’s difficult. People are actually suffering by the minute, not by the day, by the minute.”

The Shafai family escaped the devastation last week, fleeing to Egypt after six earlier attempts to get home. 

One of their attempts to flee, the family said, failed due to a mistake on the Israeli customs list which had originally only allowed the parents’ to pass through and did not list their children to go with them. 

With the experience now behind them, the Shafai family is thankful to be together back home on American soil. 

Their hearts remain back in Gaza, though, with loved ones they left behind.

“We’re here, glad we’re here and we don’t actually feel the joy as we’re here,” Hazem said. “We left family and friends behind and we don’t have a way of communicating with them.”

I don’t feel the joy, but I feel safe and relieved that my kids are safe,” Sanaa said. “I hope that this will end very soon.”

The Shafai family said they are grateful for the federal government, their neighbors and their friends for helping them get home safely. 

The family is now calling for a ceasefire.

“Stoneham is unique in that we celebrate veterans week, not just Veterans Day,” said state Rep. Michael Day, who was on hand for a ceremony at the Field of Honor on Saturday. The salute to servicemembers features flags and the names of veterans.

State Sen. Jason Lewis was also at the ceremony, and said world events have added extra meaning to honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Conflicts in the Middle East Ukraine and elsewhere may seem distant but they affect many of our neighbors none more so than our military service members and their families who may receive orders to deploy at any time,” he said. “The men and women honored by each of these flags made the choice to serve others sometimes at great risk to themselves.”

‘Anyone who would like to tour the display is invited to walk through it, it’s open 24 hours a day until Nov. 12. Taps will be played each night at 5 p.m.

The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said resident Brad Larson was discovered at his home yesterday by a relative around 4:22 p.m. on Thursday.

According to the DA’s office, the 62-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency crews arrived at 78 Deerfield Rd. shortly afterwards.

“There will be obvious police activity in the area around that home through much of the day today,” Sharon Chief of Police Stephen Coffey said Friday. “Neighbors should be assured that, given what we know at this time, there is no ongoing threat to the neighborhood or the town related to this incident.”

In a news release, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey stated that no arrests had been made as of Friday morning, and that an autopsy would be performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

A neighbor told 7NEWS it was the victim’s ex-wife who came to the home to check on Larson on Thursday and made the discovery.

A day later, authorities could be seen using metal detectors to sweep through the property’s yard, searching for evidence as their investigation went on through the day.

Friends and neighbors described Larson as a history buff who loved nature and was an active member of the community, serving as president of the Sharon Historical Society at one point.

“Nobody can believe it and we’re all heartbroken,” said Paul Lauenstein of the Sharon Historical Society. “It’s just like a bad dream – I keep pinching myself and hoping that this is nothing more than a dream.

According to his website, Larson was also an expert on interactive exhibits for museums.

“He worked with museums all over the country – that’s the kind of stature that he had,” Lauenstein noted.

Over the course of Friday, a man who identified himself as a family intervention specialist appeared on scene and told 7NEWS he had come to check on Larson and his 16-year-old son.

“He was a very, very devoted father,” said Valerie Vigoda, a neighbor and friend of Larson. “And we just had a conversation recently about just how dedicated he was, how much he was trying to do for his son.”

Vigoda also said that Larson regularly contributed to his Unitarian church.

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

The crash happened on Simarano Drive Thursday afternoon and was caught on camera by a nearby surveillance system. 

Speaking with reporters Thursday night, city fire officials said authorities were first called about an erratic driver in Marlboro around 4:30 p.m. Moments later, officials said, a call came in reporting a car had crashed into a building. 

Marlborough Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Christensen said the car ended up traveling down an I-495 off-ramp and through an intersection before slamming into the lobby of IPG Photonics. Video showed the moment of impact, with the car seen smashing through a post and sailing into the building.

“They were traveling highway speeds down the ramp and there were no brake marks,” Christensen said. 

First responders arriving on scene found two men inside the car. Christensen said both were unconscious and required “extensive extrication” as they were pinned under the car’s dashboard. 

Officials said the driver was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The passenger was flown to a hospital by helicopter.

Inside IPG Photonics, officials said the crash sprayed shattered glass in the direction of a receptionist. The receptionist, though, did not need to be hospitalized. 

While crews cleaned up Thursday night, those on scene said the outcome of this crash could have been worse. 

“Very lucky,” Christensen said. “We were surprised that they’re as lucky as they were and at the condition of the vehicle as well.”

Officials said the structure of the building was not compromised. 

Board-up crews were later spotted on scene around 9 p.m.

The Okal family had been visiting relatives when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7. The family was subsequently stranded in the area with limited power, food and water. 

On Thursday, a friend of the Okal family told 7NEWS Abood Okal, Wafaa Abuzayda and their one-year-old son Yousef had finally crossed the border into Egypt. 

“They’re just so happy to be out,” said family attorney Sammy S. Nabulsi. 

At one point in recent weeks, the Okal family had been staying in a single-family house with 40 other people, including 10 Americans.

Speaking with 7NEWS, Nabulsi said it was important to get the family out of danger, away from ongoing airstrikes and to a place where they could have access to water and food. 

“The last two or three days were really hard for them emotionally, physically and just under this constant fear that they may not wake up to see another day,” Nabulsi said. 

After several failed attempts to escape, the family was on their way to Cairo Thursday with their community back in Medway waiting to welcome them home. 

On their way home, Nabulsi said, the family is processing what they have been through. 

“I’m sure they’re all traumatized and drained physically and emotionally,” Nabulsi said. 

Mohanad Mossalam, who knows the Okals, said he was relieved to hear the family had left Gaza. 

“We are hoping to see them in the next couple days back here in Massachusetts,” Mossalam said.

Medway Selection President Glenn Trindade similarly said he was relieved and happy to hear the Okals were coming home.

There was a vigil planned for the Okal family in Medway on Saturday night. With recent developments, the vigil may now be a homecoming. 

Back in Gaza, the sky of northern Gaza was illuminated by flares and explosions as Israel’s bombardment intensified Thursday night. Reporters on the ground said missiles rained for for more than 30 minutes.

The intensified fire came after the Israeli military announced it had encircled Gaza City.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now scheduled visit Israel again in the coming days. He has said he plans to focus on discussing steps to minimized civilian casualties in Gaza.

The Essex District Attorney’s Office said Carl Hens Beliard, also 18, was found inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds around 1:30 a.m. after officers were called to a scene on Forest Avenue for a report of a shooting. Officials said Beliard was pronounced dead after he was taken to Salem Hospital.

Speaking shortly after 9 p.m., authorities announced investigators had taken Missael Pena Canela of Salem into custody. Pena Canela is expected to be arraigned in Salem District Court on one charge of murder on Thursday.

—

WATCH: Officials announce arrest in connection with shooting of Salem State University student

—

“He just graduated high school this year and he’s at Salem State University, so this morning, police came here and they told me that he got shot and he was dead – I couldn’t believe it,” Altagrace Beliard, the victim’s mother, told 7NEWS.

Emergency crews spent hours at the scene Wednesday morning, looking over the street and the black sedan Beliard was said to have been driving when shots were fired. Multiple bullet holes were visible on the driver’s side door as well as the vehicle’s back window.

After police cleared the area, individuals could be seen lighting candles in the spot where the vehicle went off road and crashed into a concrete barrier in front of a home by Lussier Street. The memorial continued to grow through the day, with more candles added in addition to a basketball and balloons.

“He’s just a kind, genuine soul,” said classmate Adrianna Duran. “He didn’t do no harm to nobody – he had no bad blood or bone in his body.”

Friend Justin Bell said Beliard was always smiling. 

“I don’t know who would have a problem with him,” Bell said. “He was always smiling.”

The victim had just graduated from high school in the spring after winning a state championship with Worcester’s North High School basketball team. 

Friends and family members said Beliard loved basketball, with his mother saying the sport had been his passion since he was young.

In Worcester, Beliard’s high school coach recalled memories of Beliard and described the difficult process of breaking the news of his death to his former teammates.

“They were in shock, ” coach Al Pettway said. “They thought I was talking about a different Carl. They repeated several times, ‘Which Carl?’ And I kind of reinforced to them that it was our Carl.”

Back at Salem State, members of Beliard’s college team are now also left to mourn the loss of a teammate.

“We got to lean on each other,” said coach Chris Harvey. “We got to lean on each other more than ever.”

Harvey continued, describing Beliard as “a great, great kid.” 

“The family is shattered,” he said. “So it’s a lot to process right now.”

“He had everything going for him,” one friend said. “He was going places and someone just snatched all that away from him this morning.”

Salem State University President John Keenan in a statement said this shooting is “heartbreaking for all in our community and every parent’s worst nightmare.

Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker and Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller both also addressed the shooting, calling the incident a tragedy and vowing to bring those responsible to justice.

Authorities said that based on a preliminary investigation, the shooting did not appear to be random and that there was not any ongoing threat to the campus community.

Homicide detectives and Salem police continued to investigate through the afternoon – at one point working in a campus parking lot as they continued to search for a suspect.

Officials said Salem police working with state police detectives assigned to the Essex DA’s office ultimately arrested Pena Canela on Wednesday evening.

Officials described the case as complex and noted work by investigators to bring a suspect into custody within 20 hours of the shooting. 

“I want to point out the extraordinary work and the extraordinary speed of work that went into this case,” Miller said.

Miller continued, saying most of his department’s officers and detectives had already worked a 16-hour day policing Halloween festivities before shots rang out on Forest Avenue. 

“This is the day that a president dreads and a parent dreads starting at 3:30 this morning when the phone rings,” Salem State President Keenan said.

The Salem State basketball team is planning ways to honor Beliard during the season.

Officials on Wednesday night said their investigation into this shooting is ongoing.

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

Haunted Happenings events in Salem — including a hypnosis show, a witches magic circle on the Common and a fireworks show over the North River — kicked off at 9 a.m. and are scheduled to continue until 10 p.m.

Additional trains have been added between Salem and North Station and Salem and Beverly. The final train to Boston leaves at 10:59 p.m. and the final train to Newburyport leaves at 12:21 a.m.

People were all dressed up Tuesday afternoon, celebrating the season in the streets and in local stores. 

“I come every year,” said Shirin Batoei. 

“For us here in Salem, Halloween is it,” said Kelsey Marr, a manager at Partridge in a Bear Tree in town. “It is our big holiday.”

Elsewhere in Salem, the owner of Witch Way Gifts said his store wouldn’t be open if not for Halloween, saying a huge chunk of the store’s business comes during October.

Salem’s visitors came from far and wide Tuesday. Among them, Britney Atwood brought her children all the way from northern California.

“I love it,” she said. “It was my dream to come here.”

Others came from Texas.

“This is on our bucket list to come down here,” said Mia Deleon.

7NEWS found one group of women from Canada posing in a guillotine. The group had some lobster and were enjoying the sights. 

“It is Halloween and we do have to do Salem right,” said Jennifer Inskip.

As festivities continued Tuesday, local and state police kept watch to make sure everyone was safe. 

In addition to their on-street presence, officials recently shared a renewed reminder to never get behind the wheel after drinking after a man was arrested in connection with a suspected drunken driving pedestrian crash that left a woman seriously injured over the weekend. 

The crash came just hours before another incident involving a suspected drunken driver and Salem police officers, in which police said a driver nearly struck officers on Washington Street.

As of 5 p.m., officials said three patients are still in critical condition and called the influx of patients unprecedented.

“Maine Medical Center has alerted on-call staff and created critical care and operating room capacity in anticipation of potential patient transports coming from the Lewiston shooting this evening,” the hospital said in a statement overnight.

At Central Maine Hospital, heavily armed officers could be seen guarding the entrances as gunshot victims were being treated inside. Around 11 p.m. Wednesday, officers could be seen clearing the hospital’s garage with guns drawn before returning to the building.

The hospital is located near the bowling alley and bar where the two mass shootings occurred and in a statement confirmed it was handling a mass casualty incident.

A mother of one of the victims shot spoke with 7NEWS, describing how she was waiting to hear about her 23-year-old son’s condition.

Speaking over the phone, she said doctors told her that her son was lucky to be alive and that he had been intubated with two bullets still inside of him, but that he was in stable condition and would need a blood transfusion.

She said her son was not supposed to still be in the area when the shootings began, but that he had been celebrating the purchase of his first home Wednesday at the time.

As of Thursday morning, officials said at least 18 people were killed in the mass shootings in Lewiston, and that 13 were injured.

Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to call officials at 207-213-9526 or 207-509-9002.

READ: Latest coverage on shootings in Lewiston and the search for Robert Card

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

The Marshfield Police Department said David Planchard, 66, was arrested after officers responded to the area of Foster Avenue on Monday night.

Officers arrived at his home after a caller living nearby described hearing gunshots and seeing “flashing lights” at Planchard’s Foster Avenue address.

“They also stated they saw ‘an older gentlemen pacing back and forth on the porch’ of 4 Foster Ave. at the time,” the police department stated in a news release.

According to police, officers arrived and came into contact with Planchard, who allowed them into his home. While at the address, Marshfield PD said another caller reported hearing gunshots that evening.

Inside the home, police allegedly detected “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the defendant” as Planchard spoke with officers.

Police also found an empty firearm magazine on the kitchen table and, during a sweep of the property, two handguns were found unsecured in a kitchen drawer, along with another unsecured handgun in a bedroom closet.

A shotgun and rifle with ammo were also found secured in the bedroom closet, but were “taken for safekeeping,” the police department said.

While the investigation got underway, a K9 trained in firearms detection was called to the scene.

Police later found bullet holes in homes near Planchard’s residence. A spent bullet casing was also found in a bush in his yard, while the handgun allegedly fired during the incident was found unsecured in a kitchen cabinet.

Planchard was later arrested before being released on $2,540 bail.

He later appeared in court Tuesday morning, where he faced charges that included:

• Improper storage of firearm (4x counts)
  

• Discharge of Firearm within 500 ft. of residence
  

• Disturbing the Peace
  

• Malicious and Wanton Damage (2x counts)
  

• Intoxicated while carrying firearm
  

• Possession of firearm in commission of felony

Marshfield PD also noted in their news release that the incident did not appear “to be directed at any victim or neighbor.”

Connor Datri lost the golden heart-shaped pendant to his necklace while on a soccer field at West School in Plymouth last week. While a few days have passed, the family was still holding out hope Tuesday that they will find the pendant. 

Others have also been helping.

“We can always step over it and miss it, so there’s other people here trying,” said Marty Conceicao, one person looking for the missing item.  

“It just made me cry,” Datri’s grandmother, Melissa Moriarty said of the help from others. “It makes me feel that people do still care.”

Datri’s mother lost her life in a car crash in 2020. Datri has since relied on the pendant to keep his mom close to his own heart. 

Datri said he lost the pendant after his necklace fell off after he tripped over his soccer ball.

“I’m kind of upset still,” Datri said. 

Moriarty initially took to Facebook, asking the community to keep an eye out. Support from her neighbors came back tenfold. 

Conceiacao, with a metal detector in tow, has been among those combing soccer fields for the necklace.

“We just want to bring back his keepsake,” he said. “We all have moms and that’s an important thing for all of us.”

“It’s amazing that everyone has come out to help us,” Moriarty said. “…That’s the greatest thing in the world to know that you have people behind you.”

Moriarty said the funeral home called her on Tuesday to say they can order her a new pendant if this one doesn’t turn up. 

The family, though, is hoping to find the original pendant with the ashes inside.

Officers responding to a reported crash involving a white BMW SUV determined that there were six people in the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to the Nashua Police Department. A 46-year-old woman who was a passenger in the vehicle did not survive. Her name has not been released.

Four other passengers were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Nashua Police Department at 603-589-1665.

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

Vietnam Veteran Ken Twombly and his wife had been on their way back to North Carolina Tuesday after traveling to Massachusetts for Twombly’s sister’s memorial service. 

“It’s a memorial mass for my sister and it was a very emotional time,” Twombly said. “We were trying to get home.”

Twombly and his wife boarded the Logan Express bus in Braintree shortly after 12 p.m. but said their driver didn’t check their tickets until they had traveled about one mile. 

When the driver did check tickets, the couple had technical issues accessing their pre-paid tickets on their phone and offered to pay for the $9 tickets again. Instead, they said they were kicked off the bus and stranded on the side of the road with their four bags.

Twombly is 72. His wife, Betty, is 69-years-old and walks with a cane.

“He’s yelling at us as if we were criminals,” Twombly said. “You know, ‘You didn’t pay for your ticket. Get off my bus.’”

“He pulled the bags out of the bottom of the bus and he threw them on the ground and took off,” Twombly continued.

Massport confirmed the incident in a statement to 7NEWS, apologizing to the couple and adding that the driver is being disciplined. 

“This incident should not have happened and we are taking steps so that it does not happen again,” Massport said.

“It wasn’t a lot of money,” Twombly said. “It’s just the way he treated people and I just don’t want to see veterans and seniors treated that way.”

Twombly and his wife said they are grateful to the other staff members at Logan Express for working with them to get the tickets they already paid for as well as other bus riders who offered to pay for their tickets.

A section of Route 1A northbound was temporarily shut down early Wednesday morning as crews worked to extinguish the flames, which threatened to ignite the 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel that were inside the tanker, fire officials said.

Authorities said the crash was reported sometime around 3 a.m. and occurred in the area of 440 William F McClellan (Rte 1A).

Video from nearby surveillance cameras showed the moment of the crash, when the tanker heading down Route 1A appeared to strike a vehicle entering from Boardman Street, resulting in a large blast that engulfed both vehicles. A second blast followed soon afterwards.

Officials said the fire itself appeared to have been sparked by a pipe leaking underneath the truck.

While the truck driver was said to be uninjured, officials have said the woman in the other vehicle was taken to a hospital for burn injuries. Meanwhile, her vehicle was burnt out by the time 7NEWS cameras arrived.

“It was burning while she was in it, so one company went right to her and focused on getting her out of the car, and the other started with the truck because obviously we had to get that fire out quick,” Boston District Fire Chief Mark Raymond said.

The driver, identified as Sabrina Ouldzenagui, 25, was taken to Mass General Hospital. Her father, Omar, spoke with 7NEWS as he went to the hospital to see his daughter.

“I’m still shocked – I’m talking, but I don’t know if I’m talking or not – I’m shaking,” he said. “Thank God and thanks to the firefighters.”

Efforts to clean up the aftermath of the crash and investigate continued through the morning, with parts of Route 1A blocked off up until the early afternoon, snarling traffic.

Hundreds gathered at Temple Israel of Boston for the service, which came at the end of a week filled with violence between Israel and Hamas. 

“We mourn, we find solidarity in each other and we act together,” said Rabbi Elaine Zecher during the service.

Wu also spoke, acknowledging the personal pain many in the room felt. 

“We feel the shock at so, so many innocent lives cut short by acts of unspeakable violence,” she said. “We feel the heartache and worry for our loved ones, for the hostages and their families. 

Threats of violence around the world caused Temple Israel to ramp up security at the door. 

“We will not be stopped,” Zecher said, though. “We will continue to show up.” 

Indeed, on Friday, the will to remember the lives lost with the hope of a peaceful future was keeping the seats inside Temple Israel full.

Wu promised during Friday’s service that the city will be supportive and take action in the coming days.

The “doxxing truck” appeared days after the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups, a coalition of Harvard student groups, earlier this week released a statement that held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” following the attacks by Hamas that have killed more than 1,200 Israelis and more than 25 American citizens. More than 1,400 in Gaza have also been killed since Israel started strikes on Gaza following the deadly Hamas attack.

Some students and their groups have since distanced themselves or withdrawn their endorsements from the statement amid an intense backlash inside and outside of Harvard. Several said they did not read the statement before they signed it.

A conservative nonprofit said it organized the truck featuring the virtual billboards with students’ names and images under a banner that reads: “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites.” It also published names online. CNN has not independently verified that the named students were associated with the letter.

The group’s president said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the group “is removing the names of students from groups that withdrew but are also adding new names every hour.”

The University’s Hillel, its Jewish student organization, condemned the billboard truck and attempts to intimidate signatories.

“Harvard Hillel strongly condemns any attempts to threaten and intimidate co-signatories of the Palestine Solidarity Committee’s statement, including the bus on campus displaying the names and faces of students affiliated with the groups who have signed it,” the organization said in a statement posted on its website.

“We will continue to reject the PSC’s statement in the strongest terms — and demand accountability for those who signed it,” the statement added. “But under no circumstances should that accountability extend to public intimidation of individuals.”

Harvard legal scholar Laurence Tribe also blasted the attempts to expose the students, telling CNN in an email that naming and shaming the students, as well as “labeling them as antisemites while posting their photos to put targets on their backs” is “far more dangerous than useful.”

“We shouldn’t repeat the McCarthy era’s excesses in the interest of moral clarity,” Tribe added.

The malicious publication of personal information, such as home addresses or phone numbers, has been a tactic used by far-right groups for years to intimidate Palestinian activists and allies into silence, according to a current Harvard student, who is of Palestinian descent, and spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity.

In the wake of the mounting backlash, at least eight of the original 34 co-signing Harvard student groups had withdrawn their signature from the statement as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper.

The reversal from a handful of student groups also comes after billionaire hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman and several other business leaders demanded Harvard University release the names of student signatories so they would know not to hire them.

In a post on X on Wednesday, famed economist and former Harvard President Larry Summers, who criticized the statement, added that it is “not a time where it is constructive to vilify individuals.”

“Please everybody take a deep breath,” he wrote. “Many in these groups never saw the statement before it went out. In some case(s) those approving did not understand exactly what they were approving. Probably some were naive and foolish.”

Harvard referred CNN’s request for comment on the doxxing truck to a letter written to the Harvard community and shared online from Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick, which said the university “takes seriously the safety and wellbeing of every member of our community.”

“We do not condone or ignore intimidation,” Weenick wrote. “We do not condone or ignore threats or acts of harassment or violence.”

She added the Harvard University Police Department has “stepped up its security presence on campus and continues to monitor online activity for the potential of any specific threat to the campus community or individuals on campus.”

Weenick also included a link to guidance resources on cyber harassment and other electronic threats in her memo.

The packed synagogue honored the memory of the thousands of lives lost in the violence, which continued Wednesday after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel over the weekend. 

“There’s fear,” said Rabbi Michael Ragozin of Congregation Shirat Hayam. “There’s real sadness — tremendous empathy. There’s a feeling of, ‘If I were there, those would have been my kids.’”

The violence has hit close to home for Yael Magen, who grew up in Israel. 

Magen just learned her high school friend was among the first people pronounced dead in the attack on Saturday. 

“What went down there was a massacre,” Magen said. “It was a slaughter of people.”

“He and his wife actually saved their son,” Magen said of her friend. “They jumped on their son while the Hamas terrorists were shooting and their son was saved.”

The unknown whereabouts of other loved ones weighed just as heavy in Swampscott Wednesday where community members turned their pain into prayer. 

“My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor,” Magen said. “She went through Auschwitz and I cannot fathom, it is so hard to believe that my children, my family, my people have just gone through the worst day since the Holocaust.” 

“We have not lost so many Jews in one day since the Holocaust,” Magen continued.

Some advocated turning anger into action. 

Those who spoke said this is a pivotal day in Jewish history. They said they were grateful to see so many people show up at Wednesday’s event but said they want people to continue showing up.

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.

The letter was shared on Sunday. Harvard’s president has since responded, saying in part “Let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.” 

“Such inhumanity is abhorrent whatever one’s individual views of the longstanding conflicts in the region,” president Claudine Gay continued. 

The letter was penned by Harvard University Palestine Solidarity Groups. It blamed Israel for the violence and said the “events did not occur in a vacuum.”

“The letter from Harvard student groups is depraved,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss told 7NEWS this week. “It represents a complete lack of not just understanding, but of empathy.” 

Harvard Hillel also countered the position in the letter, urging the Harvard community to do better. 

Gay responded on Tuesday after Harvard was criticized for not addressing the letter in a statement the school issued on Monday about the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel. 

“Harvard’s leadership has failed,” Auchincloss said. “Jews are being dragged from their homes and shot. It should not be a hard decision to condemn that and to condemn the student groups who celebrate and support those atrocities.”

“While our students have the right to speak for themselves,” Gay said Tuesday. “No student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.”

While many continue to speak out about this controversy, among the most vocalized concerns is the impact it could have on Jewish students on campus. 

“It creates a hostile environment on campus for Jewish students,” Auchincloss said.

In her letter, Gay also asked students to engage in conversations that illuminate rather than inflame.

Thalita Teixeira Padilla was critically injured on Sept. 9 when she was struck by lightning while walking along Savin Hill Beach. The 31-year-old travel nurse had been walking her dog, Bruce, with a friend when it happened.

Left with serious injuries, she was taken to Boston Medical Center for treatment while Massachusetts State Police asked for the public’s help in finding Bruce, who ran off after the incident.

That same night, a man named Hiep Ngo was able to come across the pup and, weeks later, the pet and owner were reunited at the hospital as Thalita continues her recovery.

Speaking with 7NEWS on Friday night, Ngo recounted how he had been taking his own dog out when he spotted Bruce in his backyard in Dorchester.

“He was stuck right here because his leash was stuck right around here,” he said, pointing at a stone stairwell. “His leash was stuck on one of the bushes in my backyard, so he couldn’t move anywhere – he was there for a few hours.”

Ngo brought the dog into his home and dialed the number on Bruce’s collar, getting in contact with Thalita’s husband, who explained what had happened.

“I said, ‘are you the owner because I have your dog,’ then he didn’t really say much – then, 15 minutes later, he texts me [what had happened],” Ngo recounted. “I said ‘Oh my God, I hope that she’s OK.'”

When told about the recent reunion between Bruce and Thalita, he said he was overjoyed.

“That’s great!” he said. “I’m happy for the family. I wish for her to have a speedy recovery and hopefully, I can meet her and shake her hand when she gets out, you know!”

In addition to sharing photos of the reunion, Thalita’s family also shared footage with 7NEWS of the 31 year old going outside on Friday – the first time she had been out since she was injured.

A GoFundMe campaign set up to support her can be found here.

The alleged abuse happened on a bus in Methuen. Now, the child’s father is speaking out. 

“It’s messed up,” said Anthony Amero. 

Amero told 7NEWS his 10-year-old son who has autism and is nonverbal was abused on the way to and from school. 

According to a police report, the child’s bus monitor is behind the abuse while the bus driver is accused of letting it happen. 

“Your worst fear when you have an autistic kid is him being bullied or hit and him not being able to tell anyone especially if they’re nonverbal,” Amero said. “For two grown adults to do it, it’s horrible.”

Anthony Amero II is a fifth-grade student at Nashoba Learning Group in Bedford. His father contacted the school when he noticed his son becoming skittish when it was time to ride the bus. 

“He would get on and he would lean away from the bus monitor,” Amero said. 

The Methuen Public Schools immediately started an investigation and got video from the bus company. Police said that video showed the bus monitor grabbing and twisting the boy’s arm, pinching, hitting his head, pulling his fingers and using derogatory words. 

“For him, there was nobody to speak for him,” Amero said.

NRT Bus wrote to 7NEWS, saying “We have no tolerance for this alleged behavior and both employees have been terminated. We are fully cooperating with local authorities as this matter is being investigated.” 

“You think he’s safe,” Amero said. “He’s going to school.”

The superintendent of the Methuen Public Schools sent a letter to parents Wednesday night saying “There is clearly no place for the abuse of children within our school district, and we will take all steps necessary to ensure that our students are protected.”

As for Amero, he’s speaking up to protect his son. 

“Just trying to keep him safe, that’s it,” he said. “Just keep him safe, that’s all I got to do and he wasn’t.”

The bus monitor is charged with assault and battery of a disabled person. 

The bus driver has also been charged with assault as well as permitting the abuse to happen.

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.

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.

Emergency crews responded around 11:45 a.m. to the neighborhood to remove the vehicle, which crashed off of Kenny Road.

Jim Delaney, who lives in the neighborhood, said he was shocked to see the car.

“I got a phone call from my wife, and she said there’s a lady in the swamp behind our house,” Delaney said. “I rushed home from work, and here we go, there’s a lady in the swamp in the back of my house.”

Delaney said the driver said her GPS took her the wrong way.

Video obtained by 7NEWS shows the collision at Pearson and Essex streets around 9:30 a.m.

Amtrak confirmed the collision and noted there were no injuries to passengers or crew.

Witnesses said the woman who was in the car that got stuck on the tracks was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was OK.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

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

In Marshfield, residents were taking in the strong winds at the beach. Over the last few days, people have been getting boats out of the water and preparing their properties close to the water for strong winds. 

Forecasts on Friday projected peak wind gusts potentially as high as 70 miles per hour on the mid- to outer Cape and Nantucket, with lesser gusts further west as Lee makes its closest approach to the region. A widespread area of coastline throughout New England could see between one and three feet of storm surge.

“Just come check it out before the storm and enjoy the windy weather,” Matt Leighton said in Marshfield. “It’s going to be pretty rough, I’d say.”

“I love it, I really do. It’s the best thing ever,” Robin Leahy said.

“I think it’s pretty intense. I just moved here and just seeing the ocean and the power and the intensity is awesome, the power of waves and wind,” said Camille Leighton. “Pictures don’t do it justice.”

Local officials are warning of possible coastal flooding and power outages as well. 

Eversource President of Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom discussed Eversource’s storm plans on Thursday, saying utility crews are expecting to feel the peak of Lee’s impacts between sunrise and 12 p.m. Saturday.

People in Gloucester on the North Shore are also preparing as wind and waves pick up overnight. One to three feet storm surges are expected overnight into the morning.

Dan and Linda Danish said these preparations are expected in their neighborhood which usually sees flooding and heavy winds during big storms.

“If it was coming a little bit closer it might’ve made a difference but we can guarantee the waves are gonna come up higher and pick up the wind,” Linda said.

The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning for some communities on Thursday morning, later expanding the warning to include a large stretch of coastline in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

Warning that “a combination of unsafe conditions and practices exist such that there is a substantial risk of serious injury or death of a worker,” the Federal Transit Administration on Thursday further ramped up its scrutiny of the T and called for additional safety improvements to protect employees.

The new letter from FTA Chief Safety Officer Joe DeLorenzo reopens scrutiny on near misses, when moving trains and trolleys almost struck workers who were on or near the tracks, after federal officials earlier this year flagged a previous series of similar incidents at the MBTA. The T already had to implement a new worker safety plan to comply with FTA orders that stemmed from the first series of near misses.

“Despite taking these actions, over the last month MBTA has experienced four additional near miss events, including two incidents on the Red Line and two on the Green Line,” DeLorenzo wrote in a letter dated Thursday. “The MBTA also failed to report these near misses as required by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU).”

Failure to comply, DeLorenzo wrote, might result in the T losing all employee access to the track right-of-way including for maintenance and inspections — a dramatic restriction that could effectively bring subway service to a halt — until the FTA “is confident that the MBTA can ensure workers are adequately protected from collisions.”

MBTA officials alerted the FTA earlier this week about three near misses: one involving a Red Line train on Aug. 10, another on the Green Line on Aug. 28 and a third on the Red Line on Sept. 6, as the Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

Details about the fourth recent incident, which the FTA said occurred on the Green Line, were not immediately available Thursday.

In his letter to the FTA disclosing the incidents, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said safety on and around MBTA equipment and property is “unambiguously my number one concern.”

“I can also say that since I have joined, I have observed that it is the number one concern of my senior leaders and we are all working daily to change the entire culture of the organization to instill a safety-first mindset,” Eng wrote. “This is why we are disappointed that the organization continues to struggle with near misses, but also why it is critical that the FTA understand the lengths we are taking at the MBTA to respond to and learn from these events, as well as correct any process or procedure failures that allow them to continue to happen.”

Effective immediately, the MBTA must inform the FTA within two hours of any near miss, plus submit preliminary and final investigation reports within 30 days of each incident.

The MBTA also has four business days to submit a “detailed explanation of the delays in reporting near misses that have occurred since August 1, 2023, to both the MBTA Safety department and the DPU.” T officials were previously required to inform the DPU of near misses, but they were not required to tell the FTA until the new instructions given Thursday.

During a Thursday meeting of the MBTA Board of Directors safety subcommittee, Department of Transportation Chief Safety Officer Patrick Lavin described a “disconnect” in existing communication procedures.

“In one incident, there was a near miss. We didn’t find out about it as management until four days later,” Lavin told board members. “I can’t report it if I’m not aware of it, so there’s some disconnect there.”

A T spokesperson said after the meeting that the Aug. 28 near miss was reported to DPU on Aug. 31, three days later. The other two incidents the MBTA has disclosed were reported to DPU on the day they occurred, the spokesperson said.

The FTA’s new letter also ordered the MBTA within seven business days to conduct a “comprehensive analysis” of each near miss since Aug. 1 and create an itemized list of actions to prevent similar problems in the future.

Federal regulators prohibited the use of “lone workers” on foot in the right-of-way until the MBTA can prove “sufficient procedures are in place to protect these workers.” Other worker deployments will be restricted, but not banned, while the T works on improving visibility, preparation and other precautions.

All operations control center dispatchers and supervisors will need to undergo additional training, and train operators will need to be briefed on worker locations before starting their shifts. The T must also develop a plan to ensure the “accuracy of bi-directional communication” between workers out on the tracks and dispatchers in the control center under the FTA’s orders.

Including the incidents that prompted the FTA’s springtime warning and the latest crop, there have now been at least nine near misses this year between moving trains and workers in the area of MBTA tracks.

Asked at an unrelated event Thursday why the problem continues to occur, Gov. Maura Healey replied by pointing out that Eng voluntarily reported three of the near misses before the FTA began requiring prompt notification.

“Corrective action has already started before even receiving the FTA letter, so we’re just going to continue to go forth,” Healey, who took office in January, said. “[Eng] is empowered to do everything that needs to be done to ensure the safety of those lines. That is the top priority, and we want to ensure public confidence in that. I understand we’re not there yet, but we are working hard every day to get there.”

Healey said she believes the MBTA “is getting better” despite widespread speed restrictions that continue to plague service. Challenges are especially pronounced on the Red Line, which TransitMatters data show is operating with some of the slowest speeds and fewest active trains in years.

“We walked into a situation nine months ago where there were severe shortages, severe issues in terms of operations. General Manager Eng has taken steps. We’re in constant communication with him,” Healey said in response to a question about whether the MBTA is improving. “There is more work to be done and there will be more announcements about both organizational changes and practice changes. But the answer to that question is yes.”

The FTA last year conducted a sweeping, nearly unprecedented safety investigation into the MBTA and found a wide range of problems in need of attention, including persistent communications breakdowns and regular staffing shortages.

Federal regulators ordered a bevy of changes, but stopped short of taking control of any MBTA operations or oversight. Asked Thursday if the FTA was considering more direct intervention, a spokesperson did not answer directly and instead summarized the letter sent Thursday.

“FTA, in collaboration with MBTA’s state safety oversight agency, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, will closely monitor MBTA’s implementation of these actions,” the spokesperson said. “FTA will continue to work with both organizations to strengthen safety for MBTA’s workers.”

During Thursday’s safety subcommittee meeting, MBTA Board of Directors member Robert Butler referred to DeLorenzo’s new correspondence as a “nasty letter.”

“You said you meet with [the FTA] all the time, right? To come out with a letter like that, it’s kind of harsh, ain’t it, a little bit, if you’re meeting with them?” Butler said during Lavin’s presentation.

“Not in my experience, sir,” Lavin replied. “I did this for three years in Washington. This is not an uncommon occurrence.”

“I got skin like an alligator,” he added.

Floodwaters rose through several areas within Leominster and its surrounding communities beginning late Monday afternoon. By Tuesday morning, some streets and homes were left in ruins. 

On Pleasant Street, the surge of water left one home literally on edge with a moat-like hole eroded around it. Pleasant Street itself was ripped up with underground pipes exposed. 

An indoor flea market off Spruce Street was torn apart. Overhead, the view from the sky showed how part of the building collapsed. Another section was left severely cracked. 

At the Meadowbrook Acres mobile home community elsewhere in Leominster, a major cleanup was underway just hours after rescue crews had to evacuate people from their flooded homes. 

Though some of the floodwater had receded, there was still lots of water in parts of Leominster on Tuesday, with enough in one spot to cause waves when 7NEWS spotted a pick-up truck driving through the area. 

Cleanup efforts are expected to continue throughout Leominster and surrounding communities this week after what Leominster mayor Dean Mazzarella on Tuesday described as “catastrophic” flooding. 

While Mazzarella said there were no serious injuries, officials are estimating the cost of recent local flood damage to be in the millions of dollars.

Read additional coverage of flooding in Leominster and the aftermath here.

Hours after sunrise revealed new damage and after touring impacted communities, Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday night officially announced a state of emergency declaration.

“Today I saw firsthand the devastating impacts of severe flooding in Leominster and North Attleborough – and it was painfully clear that Massachusetts is in a state of emergency,” Healey said, in part.

“This declaration will expedite our efforts to deliver relief to impacted communities and bolster our ability to access federal resources,” Healey said. 

More than 100 people were utilizing city emergency shelter space as of Tuesday morning, according to Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. In addition to local school cancellations, several roads in Leominster were closed throughout the day.

In an update around 2 p.m. Leominster’s public schools superintendent announced school will be canceled again on Wednesday. 

“Precautions are being taken to ensure the safety of all our students and staff,” said Superintendent Paula Deacon.

“Please stay safe and thank you for all your support!” Deacon said. 

Residents return to homes after rescues

Floodwaters on Monday rose fast, triggering a flash flood emergency declaration from the National Weather Service encompassing Leominster, Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Princeton and Sterling. 

A larger swath of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire was included under a series of flash flood warnings as storms pounded parts of southern New England.

Leominster ultimately received roughly 9.5 inches of rain in a matter of hours before showers tapered off around midnight, according to rainfall measurements. Parts of Princeton and Sterling saw more than six inches of rain.

A separate series of communities north of Providence and around the Attleboro area also experienced severe flooding with just under seven inches of rain in Attleboro.

Various emergency authorities reported water rescues and flood damage in several communities. Within Leominster itself, mutual aid from neighboring municipalities and state agencies responded to hard-hit areas and crews could be seen rescuing residents from their homes using inflatable boats and raised trucks. 

At the Meadowbrook Acres mobile home community, 7NEWS cameras captured many residents either wading to dry land with their belongings or being carried to safety. At least one dog was seen being carried away from the flooded area. 

“The water kept coming and coming and coming,” said Arlene Sauler after being rescued Monday night. “I’ve never seen this much water.” 

Resident David Murphy described “chaos” as he was evacuated. 

“The fireman knocked on the door and said ‘You got to go,’” he said. “We had no choice. So, they pontooned us out.”

“Very thankful for the first responders for getting us out of here,” said Ron Duval. “By the time we were leaving, the water was basically up to our waist and it was still coming down pretty good.” 

Fire officials on the ground said many residents from the mobile home community were initially taken to the Frances Drake Elementary School, where more than 60 people were seeking shelter around 11 p.m. 

Returning home on Tuesday, residents were fearing the worst but hoping for the best. 

“I couldn’t wait to get back to the house and then, you know, it’s a little devastating to come back and see,” Duval said. 

Resident David Murphy said the water “came just up to the floor.” 

“So, no water got in the house,” he said. 

“Everything else is gone,” Murphy continued. “The cars are gone. There was water up to the seats.” 

Roads closed after flooding causes sinkholes, other damage

More than a dozen streets in Leominster were closed for repairs and hundreds of vehicles had been towed from impacted areas Tuesday morning, Mazzarella said. 

“As it gets light, we’re still assessing, and it’s every part of the city,” Mazzarella told reporters.

Flood damage included a massive sinkhole that opened on Pleasant Street near Colburn Street, swallowing part of the roadway and exposing the foundation of a nearby home.

Neighbors said a couple had lived in the impacted home for 50 years or more before the ground around their home disappeared. 

One neighbor named Zac spoke with 7NEWS on camera, saying he advised his neighbors to pack a bag. The couple was hoping to stay. As conditions deteriorated, though, and as Zac and a friend were directing traffic around the growing hole in the street, Zac said they knew their neighbors had to leave. 

“I’m like ‘Get them out,’” he said. 

Zac said the pair were still in the house in a room hanging over the eroded trench. 

“They had no idea,” Zac said. 

Zac said his friend got the couple out in the nick of time, banging on the door and helping the pair move to more stable ground just as their walkway collapsed. 

More sinkholes opened on Lancaster Street, where driveways caved in and where a vehicle was left dangling from the foundation of a property’s garage.

On Route 117, the roadway was coated in mud and driveways had buckled. Some front-end loaders were seen trying to clear the road Tuesday.

“There’s a ton of damage,” said Chief Robert Sideleau of the Leominster Fire Department. “Never seen water like that.”

“We were waist high pulling people out of houses and cars and stuff like that,” Sideleau continued.

On Main Street, a section of the parking lot at Durand Buick GMC Cadillac collapsed, sending several SUVs toward the neighboring Nashua River.

“The ground got lost under a couple of cars and we’ve lost three vehicles, it looks like, but other than that, we’re very lucky,” said car dealership owner Joel Baker.

Near the dealership, part of Main Street was closed Tuesday while state Department of Transportation divers inspected a bridge over the Nashua River for signs of damage. 

Officials said things had been okay but said divers could not get to a pier which supports the bridge in the middle of the river due to fast moving water. It was unclear as of Tuesday afternoon when the bridge will be declared safe. 

“We don’t know if we are going to have that answer today,” said MassDOT District 3 Highway Director Barry Larion. “We’re hoping to have that answer but of course the water level is very high, so it is, to some extent, dangerous to get into the water.”

Shuttle buses replace Commuter Rail trains after flooding

Near the North Leominster MBTA station, Commuter Rail tracks were seen hanging in the air after flooding washed the ground away beneath them Monday night. 

Drone video showed some of the scene on Tuesday and a car was spotted wedged under a shed — some of several items of debris below the tracks.

The T announced various Commuter Rail schedule changes and train cancellations as flooding intensified on Monday. As of Tuesday night, the T on its website said buses would continue to replace regular train service on the Fitchburg Line between Wachusett and Shirley stations “until further notice” due to flooding damage in Leominster.

The T advised passengers to expect delays of up to 30 minutes on inbound trips as trains wait for buses at Shirley station. 

A spokesperson for Keolis, which operates the Commuter Rail system, on Tuesday evening said Keolis and the T will work with Leominster “to assess the damage and coordinate for necessary repairs to the drainage infrastructure before the required track repairs can begin.”

The spokesperson continued, saying crews “are actively clearing debris” and working with Leominster officials. 

“Impending inclement weather over the next few days is expected to impact the timeline for these repairs,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the MBTA in a separate statement said MBTA General Manager Phil Eng was on site for most of the day Tuesday near North Leominster Station “where a culvert (drain) under the train tracks was washed out by flash flood waters.”  

“GM Eng and his team are working closely with Keolis and coordinating with city and state officials on implementing plans to install a pipe to channel water under the tracks,” the spokesperson said.

“After the pipe is in place, crews will bring in material to rebuild the embankment that supports the tracks, allowing Commuter Rail personnel to get train service back up and running through the area,” the spokesperson continued.

Concern about Barrett Park Pond Dam prompts evacuation notice; Notice later lifted

Floodwaters in some spots within Leominster receded quickly Monday night. Elsewhere, the threat lingered and evolved. 

On Tuesday morning, residents in low-lying areas of the Fall Brook tributary to Fall Brook along Central Street, Fall Brook, and the North Nashua River in Leominster were urged to evacuate and safely leave the area due to a potential issue at the Barrett Park Pond Dam, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) announced. The evacuation notice was later lifted shortly before 12 p.m.

Shelter for residents in the evacuated area Tuesday morning was available at Skyview Middle School.

Mazzarella said, as of Tuesday morning, he was only aware of minor injuries as a result of the flooding. He said officials were still getting a sense of how widespread the damage was.

In a statement early Tuesday afternoon, the city of Leominster said anyone needing “non-life threatening assistance” with issues such as “basement flooding, sump pumps and the like” should contact Leominster Emergency Management personnel at 978-534-7580.

Anyone with life-threatening emergencies should dial 911. 

The Red Cross is also offering food, overnight shelter and health and mental health services.

Anyone in need can call 800-564-1234.

Gov. Healey speaks in Leominster, North Attleboro

Gov. Maura Healey issued a statement late Monday, noting flooding in the Leominster area and other Massachusetts communities.

“My heart goes out to the impacted communities and public safety personnel,” Healey said.

Healey said MEMA personnel were on the ground alongside state police and state Department of Fire Service personnel as of Monday night with boat rescue and emergency response teams “to ensure the safety of our residents.”

On Tuesday, Healey headed to both North Attleboro and Leominster to survey damage from flooding and speak to local authorities. 

Speaking at Leominster’s Emergency Management headquarters, Healey said she and her team were “working as quickly as possible” to issue their state of emergency declaration. 

Officials on Tuesday said they estimate the cost of recent flood damage to be in the millions of dollars. Facing high price tags for repairs, officials said they hope to get federal help for residents.

In the meantime, officials said the process of getting displaced residents back into their homes could continue for months.

Officials eye potential for more rain

Tuesday brought with it drier weather for many after Monday’s downpours.

Flooding concerns are set to return on Wednesday, though, with a flood watch set to be in effect for much of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

Between one and two inches of rain are possible within the flood watch area, according to forecasts. More than four inches are possible in localized areas.

Rain is expected to begin moving across the region around midday. Rainfall is then expected to continue in some spots through the afternoon into the overnight hours.

Hurricane Lee is also in the process of moving through the Atlantic Ocean, with forecasts on Tuesday night showing the system moving up the East Coast and past Massachusetts over the weekend. 

“We continue to be vigilant about the weather,” Healey said. “We do expect more rains. We’re going to watch, closely, hurricane activity and how that will affect things.”

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

“We gather with a family of course that mourns with a very very heavy heart,” the pastor at the vigil said.

The teen died a week ago after those close to the family said he was dared to participate in an internet craze called “The One Chip Challenge.” He ate a spicy chip and got sick. 

Police said he stopped breathing at his home hours later.

“I can’t make sense of it,” a family member said. “I don’t know that any of us can but what we can do is keep Harris’s spirit alive in our hearts and our actions.”

“A light as bright as Harris can never be truly extinguished,” she said.

The company behind the challenge has since pulled the produce from shelves. The results of Wolobah’s autopsy have not been made public. 

“Let’s continue warning our youth about the troubling things that are out there. This could’ve been any of our children,” said someone close to Harrisat the vigil.

The community cried out Friday night while remembering a teen who loved basketball and was accepted into a traveling team the day he died. His life was cut short before learning of his own accomplishment.

“What he really loved about the game was the camaraderie,” a family member said. “He cherished being part of a team of something greater than himself.”

The crowd held candles that remained lit in the pouring rain.

The family has a GoFundMe page for those looking to support them.

The incident happened on South Street around 3 p.m. Hours later, crews were still working Thursday night to restore power after the tree also took down utility wires in the area. 

“It was like a big, loud boom,” said area resident Danielle Patterson. 

Patterson said she ran out of her home when she heard the impact and found an injured couple walking away from the car. 

“She was yelling ‘Help, help, help,” Patterson said. “She was screaming for help and said ‘I think we’re dying’ and she was really scared that the car was going to catch on fire.”

The two people were taken to the hospital — the husband with severe injuries to his head. 

As they arrived at the scene, first responders were forced to work around downed power lines. 

“On arrival, we had live wires,” said Douglas Acting Fire Chief John Furno. “We had residents in one of the houses, so we had to manipulate our way around.”

 Resident Catherine Thomas said she was asleep when the tree came down on the opposite end of her house.

“It was terrifying,” she said.

Thomas said she was “dazed and confused.” Her TV was flashing, she said. 

“And things were sparking out here,” she continued, referencing her front yard. 

While crews continued to work Thursday afternoon, neighbors said the tree that fell had long been a concern. 

“We knew the tree didn’t look that great and it was older. It looked like it might have had some rot to it and I think it just finally gave,” Patterson said. 

Thomas said the tree “was flagged to come down” when she bought her house three years ago. 

“And then they took the red flag off and they never cut it down,” she said. 

While the Thomases feel fortunate to have minimal damage to their home, they said they hope the couple injured in the car recovers quickly. 

“It was just scary,” said Thomas’ son, Jeremiah Thomas. “I hope they’re okay.”

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported 566 energy customers without power in Douglas as of around 9 p.m.

There was no update on the condition of the two people injured in this incident as of Thursday night. 

“This took us by surprise,” said Tony Rodrigues, a school committee member.

“I think it’s a problem that you were surprised about this,” said a resident. “There was a lack of communication.”

When the shortfall of funds became public last week, Superintendent Mike Thomas took a medical leave. 

“I’m the leader of the school district, and you can’t overspend the budget,” Thomas said, “but, I can tell you every dime went to supporting kids.”

Thomas told 7News that he spent too much money on staffing, safety and transportation.

“Nobody sitting at this table is sitting with 14 million dollars in their pocket,” said Timothy Sullivan, a school committee member.

The school board unanimously approved an independent external audit and investigation. Mayor Richard Sullivan said the school’s chief financial officer and deputy are also off the job, both put on administrative leave.

“The City of Brockton has had massive conversations with the department of revenue,” Sullivan said, “because we need to figure out how to fill this void.” 

Concerned citizens are calling for transparency on where taxpayer dollars are going, and for those responsible for the budget failures to be held accountable.

“We are not making any accusations, but we want only transparency,” another resident said.

Officers responding to a reported shooting on Lincoln Street around 11 p.m. found a man suffering from gunshot wounds in a vehicle, according to police. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name has not been released.

Police say a preliminary investigation suggests the shooting is not related to the fatal shooting on Essex Street earlier in the day.

The second shooting came as authorities continue to search for the person or people responsible for the shooting in the area of 189 Essex St. around 2:20 a.m. that left seven people suffering from gunshot wounds.

Two of the victims later died. They have been identified as 25-year-old Abraham Diaz and 21-year-old Jandriel Heredia.

One other person remains hospitalized in critical condition and four people were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

In a press conference later in the day, officials said they believe the attack was targeted and the shots fired came from a vehicle.

Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson said, “This is absolutely outrageous to have this level of violence happen on our streets and in our neighborhood, it’s horrifying.”

Family members say the group was throwing a house party for a friend who was about to leave for college.

Diaz’s brother, Brian, said he’s still struggling to come to grips with the loss of his sibling.

“I just can’t believe this happened, I’m still trying to process it,” he said.

He added, ” My brother was a good kid. I say that because he was my little brother, giving back to kids, looking out for kids, giving back to his community and wanting to make sure everyone was alright.”

In a statement, Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker said, “This horrendous act of violence has impacted the families of the victims, the neighborhood, and the entire city. We will expend every resource in pursuit of justice and holding those responsible to be accountable for perpetrating this violence.”

Lynn Police Chief Christopher Reddy said, “We are committed to bringing those responsible to justice.  No family should have to endure the loss of loved ones through senseless violence like this.  This needs to stop!”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lynn Police Department at 781-595-2000 or text a tip to TIPLYNN and your tip to 847411 (TIP411).

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

The swans were stuck in Salisbury Pond at Institute Park. On Thursday, video captured the moment Thomas Burns and Jonathan Booker stepped in to rescue the mother bird and her babies. 

“They were stuck trying to fly up the basin and you could see they were tired,” Burns said. “They were worn out. They were angry — a lot of hissing and flapping going on.”

“They’ve been stuck down there so long and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Burns continued.

Some people who live in Worcester put up signs related to the birds, saying they called on city officials for six days to help save the swans. Some were ultimately frustrated by what they said was a lack of an urgent response. 

Then, Burns and Booker took it upon themselves to act, crawling down into the basin and freeing the swans.

“I’m an animal lover, so I thought ‘That’s the right thing to do,’” Booker said. 

While Burns and Booker were able to help, they said it was too late for one swan that Burns said got sucked down the drain. 

This was the first time Burns has done a rescue like this. The same can’t be said for Booker, though, who is familiar with the dangers the bases of waterfalls pose to wildlife. 

Booker previously rescued another swan from the same spot in Institute Park in 2021. 

Speaking with 7NEWS on Friday, Burns and Booker were not giving up on their cause to protect the wildlife, now asking the city to do more to prevent situations like this from happening again. 

“I do have faith in the government, the local government, and it’s just going to take the initiative of the citizens to go down and do what they have to do and write proper documentation given to the proper people,” Booker said. 

Booker said he is encouraging people to go to Worcester City Hall and fill out complaint paperwork in hopes of seeing change.

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

Officers working a detail for the J’ouvert Parade witnessed and responded to a shooting in the area of Blue Hill and Talbot avenues around 7:45 a.m., according to Boston police. Six men and two females were shot, five of the men and one of the females were taken to area hospitals.

Two other victims with graze wounds declined treatment at the scene, police said. All eight victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Gerald Vick, 30, and Dwayne Francis, 30, both of Dorchester, were arrested and will be arraigned Monday in Dorchester District Court on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.

After getting video that shows the two people involved in the initial gunfire, police learned that one of the men involved was shot in the leg and limped into the tow lot after the shooting. He was later identified as Sebastian Fernandez, 21, and he was arrested in connection with the shooting at a local hospital, police said.

A second person seen in the video could be seen fleeing into the rear of the Boys and Girls Club toward Franklin Field. After broadcasting the description, officers stopped a 17-year-old and arrested them on a weapons charge after they were allegedly found to be in possession of a handgun. Their name has not been released.

Members of the community who have information or video are asked to contact District B-3 detectives at (617) 343-4700 or it can be shared anonymously at the Boston Police Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu decried the violence while speaking with reporters later in the morning.

“It’s just heart-wrenching to hear that a treasured community event has been disrupted by acts of violence from those who had nothing to do with the event and there’s absolutely no excuse for something that is open to the community and part of Boston’s culture and heritage to be talked about this way because of the acts that were introduced,” she said.

In a statement, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, “This joyous festival of Caribbean heritage may have been affected by senseless violence, but we stand with the many good people here today who will not let this violence define their cultural celebration.”

In a statement, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said, “These individuals displayed a complete disregard for human life in the midst of one of the City’s cultural celebrations, endangering the lives of hundreds of people. We are proud of all of our officers for their quick and professional response in the speedy apprehension of these individuals. This should send a clear message to anyone who comes into our City that we will not stand for this type of violence and we will use all our means to identify you and apprehend you.” 

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

Wu announced the proposal alongside other city leaders at an event in Roxbury as officials continue efforts to tackle the ongoing substance use disorder, mental health and homelessness crisis in the area known as “Mass and Cass.”

Now moving forward, Wu said she will ask the Boston City Council to approve the proposed ordinance allowing police to take down tents and other structures in cases where people living inside are offered alternative places to live, services, transportation and space to store their belongings. 

“I want to be clear and acknowledge that the city of Boston so called ‘law enforcement sweeps,’ in the past have not been successful,” Wu said. “That’s not what we’re trying to replicate.” 

This time around, Wu said the city has created a temporary overnight space further down Massachusetts Avenue with about 30 shelter beds. 

Some, including State Rep. John Moran, have raised concerns. 

Speaking this week, Moran said he is concerned that his district, which already has several shelters, is shouldering the burden. 

“It doesn’t seem fair, the burden we’re taking on in the South End/Lower Roxbury area,” he said. 

City officials, though, say they aren’t just moving people from one place to do the same activity somewhere else. 

Instead, officials plan to have a 24-hour police presence in mobile units monitoring the situation. 

“I know people may be fearful that it’s going to come in their neighborhood,” said Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. “But the reality is, we are going to be in every neighborhood just to make sure that doesn’t occur.” 

Authorities this week said they don’t want to criminalize homelessness. If someone is breaking the law, though, officials said they will respond. 

“We will prosecute people to the fullest extent of the law for serious crimes like violent crimes, stabbings, shootings, human trafficking,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

Developments this week come after healthcare workers were pulled out of Mass and Cass earlier this year due to safety concerns. 

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said authorities, indeed, have seen a double digit increase in gun arrests as well as a double digit increase in assaults in the area recently. 

The new plan, Wu said, also comes as the winter months approach, raising the stakes to get people out of tents.

With their new plan, officials now aim to reopen Atkinson Street to cars and clean up the now overcrowded and dirty area around the street. 

“This is also not the solution to the opioid crisis or homelessness,” Wu said. “We are going to keep moving on all those efforts together. But this is necessary for the public safety, the health and the wellbeing of all.”

Wu said she will file her ordinance next week. 

The ordinance will then go before the City Council where it will need to proceed through a hearing and a vote in a process that could take two months.

Hours after the Boston Police Department announced the arrest of Lakeida Burris, 36, who was wanted on outstanding warrants for two counts of Animal Cruelty, the MSPCA provided an update on the three-year-old dog she had allegedly kept.

“Jobee,” a male Pit Bull-mix, was “lucky to be alive” after he was discovered living at a Roxbury home on July 4, according to the animal welfare organization. The dog had been experiencing extreme emaciation and was brought to the Angell Animal Medical Center for intensive treatment.

“Jobee weighed only 24-and-a-half pounds when he was first brought to Angell—or about half his healthy body weight according to the veterinary team taking care of him,” the organization stated in a news release.

“This is the worst case of starvation I’ve ever seen in a dog and I’m stunned that he survived,” said Dr. Kiko Bracker of Angell’s Emergency & Critical Care Service. “He had no food in his stomach or digestive tract, which had all but shut down. And we needed to be very, very careful in nursing him back to health.”

Jobee was also said to have suffered from open wounds due to lost circulation to his extremities. Due to necrosis, part of his tail had to be amputated, the MSPCA said.

Within two weeks after he was admitted and given IV fluids, officials said Jobee was able to start eating solid foods and was later discharged from the animal hospital on July 19 before being taken in by the MSPCA’s Boston Adoption Center.

Burris was arrested by Boston PD in the area of Ernst Street on Wednesday afternoon, months after being listed on the department’s “Most Wanted” list. She appeared on the list after officers were called to her address in early July.

While police said Burris was not home at the time police visited, several children were. During a sweep of the apartment, officers found Jobee.

At the time, officials said, officers “observed an extremely malnourished and emaciated dog.”

Boston police said Jobee was abandoned near a dumpster shortly after officers left Burris’ home.

Later speaking in court, Burris’ defense attorney argued his client was not there, saying the dog is owned by another person.

“When she found out there was a dog in the house, she told them ‘That dog should not be in the house,” the attorney said.

Burris was previously charged with animal cruelty in 2022 when a previous dog she owned needed to be euthanized because of neglect.

Now facing new charges, Burris is being held without bail pending final surrender before she’s held in the amount of $1,500. Burris will then not be allowed to have animals in the home.

As Jobee recovers, MSPCA personnel have said he will survive as they’re now seeing sparks in the eyes of a dog that had been just days away from death.

“I’ve been working at the MSPCA for 29 years and have seen many law enforcement cases of negligence but I honestly can’t say I’ve seen a skinnier dog that’s still alive until we met Jobee,” said MSPCA-Angell Director of Adoption Centers and Programs Mike Keiley. “It’s pretty tragic. He couldn’t even really fully walk or stand on his own when he came in.”

“We’ve seen in previous cases that dogs this neglected essentially give up and do not recover—but it was clear from the first minute in our care that Jobee wanted to live,” he added. “[Jobee] inspired us all and captured every heart along the way.”

Officials said Jobee is at the point in his recovery where he could be adopted soon. A second dog that was in the home when police arrived in July has been placed in a foster home.

Burris is due back in court in September.

UMass Memorial Health announced the closure in May. As the planned closure date of Sept. 23 now approaches, the organization is moving forward with plans despite pushback from the community and nurses in the maternity ward.

“We’re hoping for a miracle,” said Tara Corey, a registered nurse at UMass Memorial Health Alliance-Clinton Hospital. 

“We will not have our jobs anymore,” Corey said of the pending closure. “There won’t be a need for us in that hospital as far as if we want to stay with obstetrics which is sad.” 

“It’s crazy that everyone is speaking out against this and the hospital is not hearing us,” Corey continued. 

The state Department of Public Health recently set out a list of requirements for UMass Memorial Health to proceed with the closure. In response, the hospital wrote a 17-page letter explaining, in part, “The Hospital made this decision after investing significant resources and efforts to try to maintain the Services.”

“Despite this difficult and necessary decision, we want to assure the Department and the community that prenatal and postpartum services will continue to be provided in the community,” the letter said. 

Speaking with 7NEWS, Corey shared her reaction. 

“I was completely shocked at how preposterous all of it actually is and how they are explaining what will happen when the closure hits,” she said. 

UMass Memorial has cited staffing issues and few births on a daily basis as some reasons for the planned shutdown, arguing there are other hospitals in the area offering inpatient maternity services.

Moving forward, the hospital is providing additional training for its emergency department staff to provide continuity of care. 

“They’re downplaying our skill level as nurses,” Corey said.

Among measures, the hospital is also working on additional transportation options for mothers in labor who don’t have their own cars. 

Corey says the hospital’s consideration of travel time is flawed.

“That’s blowing my mind and I’m so upset,” Corey said. “And I don’t think that’s a solid plan.”

A recent report from the Department of Public Health found a rise in serious complications from labor and delivery in Massachusetts over the last 10 years. 

Now, nurses from the center in Leominster say this closure could put the 500 to 600 mothers they see per year at risk. 

“A lot of those women don’t know what they’re going to do,” Corey said. “They’re, in the middle of their pregnancy, having to come up with a new plan and it’s heartbreaking.”

Some incoming freshmen were slated to move into White Hall next week. Now, those students have been reassigned to other campus locations.

“If that happened to me, I’d be pretty upset,” said area resident Ethan Spitalney. 

“A lot of kids are international too, especially at our school, so pretty big shame that they have to deal with all this,” said Northeastern junior Neil Isaac.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Northeastern said officials found the water damage  “impacting the structure of the interior and exterior brick walls of the building” as part of a planned building improvement project at White Hall.

“Structural engineering experts are currently evaluating the problem and we expect to have their report and recommendations within the next couple of weeks,” the spokesperson said. “At that point, we will determine the necessary repair work and the timeline to complete it.”

Students were notified of this change on Monday. On Tuesday, there was a sign taped to the front door of White Hall turning visitors without “approved access” away. 

Northeastern University in its statement said it always has beds readily available in case of unexpected emergencies. 

Those in the community, though, say a dorm disruption like this can have a major impact on students’ college experience. 

“I know how important that is to be able to have everyone be together on campus and to be cohesive and that could definitely disrupt the community, especially for first years looking to meet new people,” Spitalney said.

Northeastern told impacted students it made an effort to keep roommate pairings together. In some cases, though, that could not be done.

Students on campus told 7NEWS this change impacted a few hundred freshmen who would have been living at White Hall.

One of those volunteers and Common Man for Ukraine co-founder Susan Mathison spoke with 7NEWS as she set off for Poland to take part in the Children of Ukraine Health Retreat. Thirty kids will get physical and mental healthcare far away from the war zone.

“When we first see these kids they’re horrifically traumatized their faces are just stone and they’re afraid of everything. They’ve been taught that Russians can kidnap them, so to leave their communities and get on a bus with strangers is a big challenge,” Mathison said.

Anyone interested in supporting the organization can visit this website.

Randy Williams was driving on Interstate 295 near the Johnston-Smithfield line when a funnel appeared on the road.

“It hit the backside of my car, which changed the path I was going and moved me over a lane,” he recalled.

Another car in Johnston was actually picked up and moved as the twister spun through the area.

David Danella, an off-duty firefighter who witnessed it, said, “Her car was in the middle of its cyclone winds. I guess that’s what you call them. It picked her car up and spun her around like that and then just dropped it back down.”

SKY7-HD flew over Highland Memorial Park Cemetery in Johnston, where a tornado touched down just before 9 a.m.

Some 20 acres of the area was destroyed.

Merill Brouchau took shelter in her basement, and when she came out she found her patio swing in her swimming pool.

“Crashing, booming, it was terrifying,” she recalled.

Boston police told 7NEWS the incident happened on Aug. 7. 

The officer involved has now entered a settlement agreement for a 90-day unpaid suspension for violating department rules including “conduct unbecoming of an officer” and larceny under $250. 

The Boston police department said the suspension will last until Oct. 1. After the suspension, police said the officer will then be on probation for three years. 

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

Dubbed “Boston Delivers,” the program is rolling out after the expansion of car-based delivery services in recent years.

“There’s so many parts of traffic that are actually caused by delivery cars that are double parked or just circulating on the roads,” Mayor Michelle Wu said. 

Wu and the Boston Transportation Department announced Boston Delivers on Tuesday. Among comments, Wu said in a statement that officials are launching the program “to explore how to make our streets flow more smoothly and safely for everyone.”

“A lot of the trips especially for close deliveries can be done much more quickly by bicycle,” Wu separately told 7NEWS Tuesday afternoon. 

Boston Delivers is expected to launch in mid-September and run for at least one year, delivering cargo to and from businesses.

In Boston, restaurant owner John Kim said his Korean food restaurant, OliToki, relies on delivery as a key part of its businesses. He said traffic has been “pretty brutal” for anyone driving around Boston, adding “It’s definitely got worse in the past five to seven years.” 

Kim is among the first to jump on for the test run of Boston Delivers. 

“All those goods are now getting to where they need to be in one small lane instead of all these cars and trucks causing more traffic and pollution,” he said. 

Kim’s involvement has required a small investment — paying $15 per hour for the promotion of the Boston Delivers program. 

Speaking this week, though, Kim said he’s willing to try the program out to make food more accessible for customers. 

“Even if it’s breaking even, really, our goal as a restaurant is to just offer another option for our community,” Kim said. 

Within Allston, resident Jon Tan said biking is his preferred mode of transportation. He continued, saying biking is faster.

“Especially in an area like Boston where it’s very congested most of the time, it would be beneficial,” Tan said. 

Others were not so convinced Tuesday evening. 

“Personally, I would rather my stuff be delivered in a car,” said Dan Kennedy, who frequents Allston. 

Allston resident Jarom Larman also discussed potential roadblocks the soon-to-launch program could face. 

“I don’t know how the bike riders would fare,” Larman said. 

“We have a designated bike lane but anytime anyone needs to run in somewhere, they just park in it,” he continued.