WAKEFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - A 42-year-old Wakefield woman faced a judge Monday after she allegedly waved a BB gun at people enjoying a “porchfest” event over the weekend.
Wakefield police in a statement said officers responded near 3 p.m. Saturday after receiving reports of a woman speeding through the town’s Greenwood neighborhood while brandishing what appeared to be a rifle.
The woman had left the area by the time police arrived. By 5:30 p.m., though, police said information from witnesses led authorities to Brigid MacDonough.
There were no injuries related to this incident. MacDonough was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
MacDonough entered a Medford courtroom in handcuffs near 1:30 p.m. Monday.
Though it looked like a rifle, prosecutor Elizabeth Kelly said the weapon MacDonough brandished on Saturday was actually a BB gun. Kelly said authorities seized the BB gun Monday morning.
Hours before the incident involving the BB gun, Kelly said MacDonough was fighting with her boyfriend in Saugus. Kelly said MacDonough drove her car into her boyfriend’s car before heading to Wakefield.
A US Postal Service spokesperson confirmed MacDonough is currently employed as a mail processing clerk at the postal service’s Chelsea Carrier Annex.
Now facing new legal trouble, MacDonough was already on probation for resisting arrest following an incident last year where she ran her car into her boyfriend’s deck in Saugus.
MacDonough’s boyfriend was in Medford on Monday and had no comment when leaving the courthouse.
MacDonough pleaded not guilty to the new charge against her. Before she is released, the judge in her current case said she will need to appear before a judge in Lynn District Court to see if she will be jailed for violating her probation on the resisting arrest charge.
If MacDonough is allowed to go home, the judge said she will need to remain on house arrest and abide by a series of conditions or risk having her bail revoked in the Wakefield assault with a dangerous weapon case.
MacDonough is due back in court for a pretrial hearing next month, according to court records.
Wakefield Porchfest is one of several porchfest celebrations in area communities where attendees can attend a variety of free musical performances on makeshift stages.
In Wakefield, this year’s event featured 106 acts performing across 50 locations, according to the Wakefield Porchfest website.
Porchfest attendees captured the gun-waving incident on camera and soon shared their reactions, with one telling 7NEWS they heard MacDonough shouting profanity before pointing the weapon out her window.
“Whether it was a real gun or not, it doesn’t matter,” another witness said. “When you threaten us with a weapon or non-weapon, the behavior was disturbing enough.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)