CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (WHDH) — A man was arrested in Charlestown after police said he ripped a gas line out of the wall and tried to light the fumes with a cigarette lighter.
Officers responding to a 12:10 p.m. report of an emotionally disturbed person in a building on Walford Way in Charlestown found that a 57-year-old man had barricaded himself inside an apartment and ripped a gas line from the wall. When they made their way into the apartment, police said the man tried to ignite a cigarette lighter in the room with the gas leak.
Using a beanbag shotgun, the officers disarmed the man and placed him into custody. The man, whose name has not been released, was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital for evaluation. He will be charged with attempted arson, assault with a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.
“This was obviously an extremely dangerous incident both for the other residents of the building and for my officers,” said Boston Police Commissioner William Evans in a statement. “The officers knew they needed to act quickly, and I applaud their restraint in a volatile and unstable situation.”
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