Boston police cruiser burns down during night takeover

Boston police said a crowd of more than 100 people attacked the Boston Police cruiser and closed the intersection of Tremont Street and Massachusetts Avenue after 2 a.m. Sunday.

Police said it was a “massive takeover”.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Gianna Tufano, who lives nearby.

People living at the southern end intersection were awakened to the chaos of early Sunday morning.

“There are fires everywhere, there are fires everywhere, there are about a mile of police cars,” said Laila Dellorso, who lives nearby.

“It’s like a riot and then we see someone arrested and we look right and this police car is on fire,” said Simran Nalhatra, who lives nearby.

Witnesses said a Boston police car caught fire after someone threw fireworks at it.

Police said the cars they marked were also smashed by cones, poles and other objects.

“It’s really scary, I’m like I don’t know why it’s so loud, everyone screams and it lasts for an hour or two,” said Neha Senthil, who lives nearby.

Less than an hour before Randolph, police reported another vehicle was reported at the intersection of Oak and North Avenue, where the police cruiser was also attacked by a crowd of more than 100 people.

Randolph police said their officers were in extreme danger when they were trying to drive on the hood of the car.

“I only see them escape from police officers who have never seen violence against police officers in my life,” Tafano said.

It is unclear whether these acquisitions between Randolph and Boston have been linked.

Boston police did arrest two Rhode Island men, involved in some of the worst attacks on police officers. Julian Bowers, 18, and William Cantwell, 19, will file a lawsuit in Roxbury District Court on Monday.

“I thank our Boston police and all first responders for their operations last night,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement. “Outside individuals who brought dangerous and disorderly behavior into Boston last night will be prosecuted and fully responsible for their actions. These groups are unpopular here and will face serious consequences.”

This is a developing story. As more information is available, check out the update.

download Free Boston 25 News App Used to break news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 news on Facebook twitter. |Watch Boston 25 News Now