Guardian Angels patrol Brockton Fair after shootings
As a teen growing up in Quincy, Sarah Belcher heard stories about the Brockton Fair. It was dangerous, she was told. So she made it a point not to visit the annual event.
Believing the fair had changed over the years, Belcher, 29, who had since moved to Brockton, began attending about four years ago with her husband, Patrick, also 29. The couple even brought their 2-year-old son Johnathan yesterday for the 135th annual fair, scheduled to run through Sunday.
But Belcher’s fears were rekindled over the weekend with a double shooting early Saturday; and she was there early yesterday when she saw a firetruck and ambulance respond to a report of a stabbing.
“I won’t let him out of my sight,’’ Belcher said of her son. “Even if he were older, I wouldn’t want him to come and hang out here because of this ridiculousness. We can’t even come out to have fun - a night for families - without a stabbing, shooting, or someone getting beat up.’’
Thomas Brophy, a Brockton councilor at large, said in a telephone interview yesterday that the change in the weather, after weeks of overcast skies and rainfall, probably brought out the bad element. “I think it’s because of the good weather, unfortunately. We have had problems in the city at the fair and at night.’’
He has proposed legislation that would limit the late-night hours of city establishments such as liquor stores.
“If we want to have attractions, we have to be aware that it sometimes brings in people who have an ax to grind with other people. Unfortunately, they work out their differences with a gun,’’ he said.
“But that’s not just indicative of Brockton. We want Brockton to be a destination city, but not for people looking for their last drink or a place to hang out after 1 a.m. Brockton residents should feel safe in their beds at night and not have to worry about violence in the streets.’’
The shooting occurred a little after midnight Saturday as crowds were leaving the fairgrounds. A male and female in their 20s were shot, but their wounds were not life-threatening, said Lieutenant Paul Bonanca of the Brockton police.
Police would not discuss whether a stabbing occurred the following night.
Keri Fitzpatrick, assistant general manager for the fair, referred all questions to the general manager, Maura Carney, who did not respond to a request for comment.
Following the shooting, members of the city’s chapter of Guardian Angels, a volunteer crime watch organization, began patrolling the fairgrounds Saturday in six-hour shifts.
“It’s very frightening,’’ said Mike Weydt, a Brockton native who leads the chapter. “We’re hoping it doesn’t discourage people from coming to the fair. Because we are here, we’re hoping the families are still going to come.’’
Fairgoers as well as employees of Reithoffer Shows, which runs the fair, thanked the Guardian Angels as they passed by, Weydt said.
Mario Williams of Boston, who attended the fair yesterday with his children Marina, 16, and Mario Jr., 11, felt that the violence was related to the holiday weekend, and he did not fear staying at the fair into the evening.
“I would not come on the night of July Fourth; too many influences,’’ he said. “The hoopla is done tonight.’’
The Brockton fair has a history peppered with violence and scarred by criminal allegations.
Last week, Carney pleaded not guilty to charges that she and a former Brockton police officer arranged a sham marriage for a German woman seeking to stay in the United States.
In 2006, a convicted sex offender was arrested while working at the kiddie ride section of the fair after police said he had violated state law by not reporting his employment.
At the 1989 fair a few days before the July Fourth holiday, two people were stabbed and an undercover police officer was attacked by a knife-wielding youth after Boston gang members arrived at the fair. Fifty-nine people were arrested on July Fourth night that year, mostly for disorderly conduct at or near the fairgrounds.
“The police presence is visible,’’ Belcher said. “They stop a lot of things from escalating. But they can’t be everywhere. I give them mad props. I wouldn’t want their job at a fair.’’ 