Boston man allegedly punched woman in the face because she didn’t say 'good morning' to him
07/26/2023 2:16 pm PDT
BOSTON (TCD) -- A 33-year-old man was arrested for allegedly punching a woman repeatedly and fracturing her nose because she did not say "good morning" to him as he walked by.
According to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, on July 13 at approximately 9 a.m., Boston Police responded to a call on Balsam Street in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood because a woman called to report she had been attacked by an unknown man. The woman said she was watering her lawn when the suspect, Ian Atkinson, allegedly "walked by her and then cursed at her for not saying good morning to him."
The victim took her out her cellphone and began recording him. Atkinson reportedly got into a black Mercedes nearby, then got out and started punching her.
Security footage reportedly shows Atkinson hitting the victim "at least seven times in the head." Police said she was "bleeding profusely from her nose."
Afterward, he got into his black Mercedes, reversed the car, and "swerved" toward the victim. She got Atkinson’s license plate on camera and provided it to police.
The victim also reportedly noticed Atkinson wore a GPS tracking device.
Police used the license plate number to locate Atkinson at a home on Lucerne Street and found a second Mercedes registered in his name. Officers concluded Atkinson was allegedly the same person in the video, and the victim pointed him out in a photo lineup.
Police obtained a warrant for Atkinson’s arrest and took him into custody on charges of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the victim sustained a fractured nose and subconjunctival hemorrhage to her left eye. She reportedly bit Atkinson’s shoulder during the incident.
District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, "It’s difficult to comprehend the viciousness and randomness of such an attack, in this case on a stranger doing nothing more than watering her lawn. All over a perceived — and perhaps nonexistent — slight. But it isn’t difficult to admire the bravery and alertness of this victim, and her presence of mind not only to get crucial video of her attacker but also to notice that he was strapped with a GPS device."
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