Never a good idea to point a fake gun at police
By adamg - Thu, 05/29/2008 - 10:07pm.
Aaron Donovan took this photo on the Common early this evening:
Apparently the Boston Police shot a guy who was "wielding a replica pistol" on the common right outside of my office. There were tons of cops all over the area, here you can see the witnesses that police held for questioning.
The Globe reports police shot the man in the arm when he refused to drop the replica semi-automatic handgun. He was taken to Boston Medical Center and is expected to live.
| 
| 
gotta love what appear to be
gotta love what appear to be spectators sitting on the benches.
Gotta read what it says
"Here you can see the witnesses that police held for questioning."
More from the police
They're saying the guy with the gun, Shawn Craig, 23, was, as they say, known to them. Specifically, he was wanted on a warrant out of Boston Municipal Court and for some unspecified probation issues. So when officers spotted him on the Common, BPDNews says:
The officer who shot him is now out on leave; he somehow injured himself during the confrontation (BPDNews doesn't say how).
Police also say the gun in question was a bit more than just a replica; it was a pellet gun.
This explains the labyrinth
that was the Common last night.
I went for a run through this spot last night around 7:45. I felt like a rat in a maze trying to get around all the yellow tape. There was approximately 20 cruisers, a paddy wagon or 2, and atleast 40 cops guarding these penned off areas (which seemed to serve no other purpose than to confuse a fairweather jogger trying to muster up the strength to climb the massive hill to the State House).