On May 1, we had a Los Angeles-style shootout between a criminal and police officers, complete with SWAT team, helicopters overhead, etc. WCVB:
The FBI and Somerville police are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest in connection with the Middlesex Federal Savings Bank incident.
The robber is described as a Hispanic man in his 20s or early 30s and is about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 175 pounds.
Just after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, a man wearing a black hat and camouflage jacket walked into Middlesex Federal Savings Bank on College Avenue carrying a handgun.
He fired a shot at the ceiling, then went up to a teller window and put the gun on the counter. That’s when a Somerville police officer came in and the two of them started shooting at each other.
SWAT teams, K9 units and armored vehicles went through the streets in the neighborhood around Davis Square.
Senior Management was waiting for a kid-related activity with three moms who were at home when the shooting happened and SWAT and the helicopters came in.
It could have been worse, though. One mom: “I was scared. But not as scared as I am of Trump.” The other two nodded in sympathetic agreement.
Related:
- MassLive: “Massachusetts State Police troopers, along with Somerville police, FBI agents and SWAT team members swarmed College Avenue Wednesday morning after a man attempted to rob the Middlesex Federal Savings bank.”
- the description of the suspect varied depending on news outlet. He was “Hispanic” in the build-the-wall Boston Herald. He was “in his 30s with a medium build” in the sanctuary-is-not-enough Boston Globe.
It’s disturbing to see the hate-term “robber”. Shouldn’t that be “undocumented account holder”?
Interesting that “Los Angeles style” is used to describe the shootout. Is this primarily because live aerial video was available, or is there some other aspect unique to LA shootouts?
It is unusual for alleged criminals to interact with helicopters and SWAT here in the Boston area. The last dramatic event was in 2013 when two immigrant asylum-seekers killed taxpayers who were funding their welfare lifestyle (subsidized housing, food stamps, Medicaid, etc.) at the Boston Marathon (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzhokhar_Tsarnaev ).
A Google search for “los angeles swat” on the other hand, brings up
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Koreatown-Store-Standoff-Gun-509279701.html
from May 1 (helicopter footage!).
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/04/10/rancho-cucamonga-swat-standoff-ends-with-flash-bang-suspect-being-dragged-out-of-car/
from April 10 and
https://ktla.com/2019/03/21/authorities-pursue-fleeing-driver-through-van-nuys/
from March.
“Boston SWAT Team Raided Wrong Home: ACLU”
Probably for the best Boston SWAT doesn’t respond to more incidents.
AlsoLostTheirCat: That’s what happens when you have SWAT without helicopter support!
https://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/crime3.aspx
shows that the Los Angeles/Long Beach metro area has 5X the murder rate and 2.5X the robbery rate of the Boston metro area.
Politicians inform us that immigrants reduce crime. Maybe the difference is that Los Angeles doesn’t have enough immigrants?
JP: it means someone watched Heat once.
I love how people talk about Trump like (and with the frequency of) puritans talking about the Devil. They’re gonna love Lord of the Rings. (or the old testament https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2011/10/hank-williams-jr-firing-who-was-the-rhetorical-worst-person-in-history-before-hitler.html )
Just as folks were questioning whether Los Angeles is the natural home for dramatic helicopter-filmed busts… https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/442873-more-than-1000-firearms-seized-by-atf-at-los-angeles-mansion