A pro-Israel demonstrator in Massachusetts has been charged after prosecutors say he shot a man sporting a Palestinian flag pin who ran across the street through traffic and tackled the defendant Thursday during a heated dispute about the war in Gaza in which the man accused protesters of "defending genocide" and calling them "sick."
Scott Hayes, 47, of Framingham, has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, as well as violation of a constitutional right causing injury, after he shot his attacker in the stomach as they tussled on the ground in Newton at around 6:40 p.m., Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a late night press briefing.
Hayes fired his gun after the man made a beeline from across the street, tackled Hayes and knocked him to the ground before grabbing him around the neck on a sidewalk, video shows.
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After the shot rang out, two other pro-Israel demonstrators could be seen stomping on the pro-Palestinian supporter, who has not been identified, and then dragging him off Hayes.
In another video posted online, Hayes can be seen administering aid to the man seconds after the shooting and telling an onlooker to call 911. The shooting victim suffered life-threatening injuries and was being treated at a local hospital, according to Ryan.
The incident was sparked while Hayes and a group of other pro-Israel supporters were protesting at the intersection of Washington Street and Harvard Street, which is about seven and a half miles west of Boston. Newton, a city of around 90,000 people, has a large Jewish population.
"There was a small group of individuals, pro-Israeli demonstrators who were demonstrating on one side of the street. There was an individual, apparently completely randomly walking down the other side of the street," Ryan said. "Words were exchanged back and forth across the street."
"You are sick, you are sick," the man, wearing a purple T-shirt and shorts with a face mask around his neck, can be heard saying, according to the video footage.
"We are sick?" a woman can be heard clapping back at him and laughing.
"Yes, you are defending genocide," the man shouts back.
Then, in the next clip, the man can be seen running across a busy pedestrian crossing through traffic and lunging at Hayes.
"Ultimately, that individual came very rapidly across the street and tackled one of the demonstrators," Ryan said.
"There was a scuffle that was going on, on the street, and at some point Mr. Hayes used a gun and fired a shot that struck the individual who had come across the street."
Ryan said that Hayes legally owns the firearm.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to support Hayes, and the fundraiser has already raised more than $55,000.
The page states that Hayes is an Iraq War veteran, and even though he is not Jewish, has been taking part in demonstrations across Boston defending the Jewish people and their right to self-determination and governance all across Boston.
Hayes is expected to be arraigned Friday at Newton District Court.
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said it was a "frightening incident" and called for patience as investigators look into what took place.
"Let the Newton police do their work and get the facts straight," Fuller said. It is the really early stages of an active investigation.
Meanwhile, Acting Newton Police Chief George McMains asked the public who have information or video of the incident to come forward.
He also said that extra police will patrol houses of worship over the next several days.
