Police shoot man brandishing pistol replica on Boston Common
By Jillian Jorgensen and Sarah Gantz, Globe Correspondents
Boston Police say an officer shot a man in the arm on Boston Common this evening after he pointed what appeared to be a gun at police.
The man was brandishing a replica of a black semi-automatic handgun, Superintendent Bruce Holloway said at a news conference.
Police and probation officers were in the area conducting "threshold inquiries" -- interviewing people who seemed as if they might be involved in criminal activity, Officer Eddy Chrispin, a police spokesman, said.
During an interview at around 6:45 p.m., the man ran away, Holloway said.
Police ordered him to stop, but he did not. Then he turned around with what appeared to be a gun in his hand. Police told him to drop it and he did not. An officer shot the man, Holloway said.
The man was transported to Boston Medical Center with a non-life-threatening wound to his arm, Chrispin said.
The shooting happened at a time when the urban park was busy with people heading home from work or heading out on the town.
Daniel Villegas, 37, of South Boston said he saw a man in his 20s with a sling on his arm talking to officers, then "he just took off."
Villegas said he saw officers chase the young man to the Tremont Street edge of the Common, then heard a shot, and saw blood on the man's white shirt.
