Police in Boston and several other communities in Eastern Massachusetts scrambled early Sunday morning to respond to numerous reports of “street takeovers” where large crowds shut down streets and drivers performed high-speed stunts as spectators watched and took video with their phones.
Two of the takeovers in Boston and Randolph involved direct attacks against police cars, officials said. No injuries were reported in those incidents, but a spectator was struck by a car at another meetup in Hyde Park and was taken to the hospital.
Governor Maura Healey has condemned the events and on Wednesday warned participants, saying that “anyone who engages in that conduct will be found and will be held accountable to the furthest extent of the law.”
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Healey said she has directed the head of the State Police, Geoffrey Noble, “to make sure that MSP resources are used to work with local police departments to identify, apprehend and punish offenders.”
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done online, and we have monitoring through the [State Police] Fusion Center and other resources, but I just want to be really clear that we have zero tolerance for this in the state,” she said.
Boston’s police commissioner, Michael Cox, said Wednesday it was too early to say whether the series of takeovers were connected.
He stressed that cars and unruly crowds have been descending on intersections across the country for the past few years, fueled largely by social media.
“It’s a trend, a culture trend. It’s getting out of control. It needs to be stopped and it’s very dangerous,” Cox said.
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Here’s what to know about the incidents.
What happened and where
Middleborough, 11 p.m. Saturday: The turmoil began Saturday night in Middleborough, where 50 vehicles and dozens of people converged on a commercial parking lot. Several vehicles had stolen license plates, and at one point, a white Dodge Charger “bearing Connecticut plates attempted to strike an officer,” police said.
Fall River, 12:26 a.m. Sunday: About 200 people disrupted traffic across Fall River, including shutting down a street that leads to St. Anne and Charlton Memorial hospitals, during a “takeover” similar to those reported in other communities Sunday morning.
Five men were arrested, and a warrant was issued for a sixth person, police said.
One of the men arrested by Fall River police told investigators he learned about the event from a “flyer” on Instagram. The man, identified as 22-year-old Jahir M. Gonzalez, also told police the group gathered first in Brockton until police in that city broke up the event.
The crowd then traveled in a pack to Fall River, where they took over a downtown street, police wrote in a report. When officers arrived on the scene near Davol and Central streets, people wearing high-visibility vests were blocking traffic so drivers could perform “doughnuts” and other high-speed stunts for an audience of about 200 people, police wrote.
Randolph, 1:30 a.m. Sunday: More than 100 people targeted police cruisers at Oak and North Main streets, with some setting off fireworks on the hoods and hitting the vehicles with their fists and various objects, police said. Others sat or leaned on the cruisers as officers tried to drive, police said.
Police worked to clear the intersection to avoid potential delays for a nearby fire station. Police in Randolph did not say if any arrests were made or if anyone was injured.
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South End of Boston, 2 a.m. Sunday: Shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, Boston police responded to a large-scale street takeover at Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street.
One cruiser was “hit with multiple fireworks from all angles” while the officer drove in circles among the crowd, according to the police report. At one point, several people began jumping on the hood of the cruiser, which later filled with “smoke and sparks” from fireworks, according to the report. The car caught fire after a firework was left on the hood, the report said.
”This fire melted the windshield and engulfed the entire interior, completely melting the inside and totaling the vehicle,” the report said.
Officers dispersed the crowd with Tasers and unholstered guns, the report stated. They arrested two people, Julian Bowers, 18, of Cumberland, R.I., and William Cantwell, 19, of Warwick, R.I., after a brief foot chase. Bowers allegedly threw things at the cruiser, while Cantwell allegedly used a pole to repeatedly strike it, according to the report.
Hyde Park, 3 a.m. Sunday: Boston police responded to a report of about 100 vehicles trespassing on private property at 65 Sprague St. in Hyde Park. The cars were leaving the scene when police arrived, and officers found a person on the ground crying out in pain, according to a police report.
The male had “blood visible in his mouth, arms and legs,” and his neck was being supported by other people at the scene, according to the report. Witnesses told police they were watching other vehicles “doing donuts” when a black sedan hit the person and fled.
The male was taken to Beth Israel Hospital, police said.
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Westwood, 3:20 a.m. Sunday: Police in this town west of Boston got a call from security officers at a Wegmans reporting a gathering of about 30 vehicles in the grocery store’s parking lot.
Officers found a higher number of cars at the scene when they arrived, but the crowd dispersed with “no issues,” said Westwood police Lieutenant Mike DiLalla.
“It was a pretty benign event for us, they simply moved along,” he said.
One officer tried to stop a vehicle as it was leaving, but the driver fled to a nearby highway, he said.
No arrests or injuries were reported.
West Roxbury, 4:30 a.m. Sunday: At about 4:30 a.m., officers were called to a Home Depot on VFW Parkway in West Roxbury for a report of shots fired and found more than 100 people and vehicles lighting off fireworks, police said.
Officers wrote in a police report that their cruiser was surrounded by the crowd and a person discharged a fire extinguisher at the windshield. Police chased after the person on foot but “terminated the pursuit due to being significantly outnumbered by the crowd,” the report said.
Who has been charged
Two men were arrested in connection with the South End incident. Bowers and Cantwell were charged with malicious destruction of property over $1,200, disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest, police said. Both men pleaded not guilty in court Monday.
In Fall River, five people were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and conspiracy, police said. They were identified as Jahir Gonzalez, 22, of New Bedford; Alexander Copsetta, 21, of North Easton; Alyssa Deyoung, 19, of Bridgewater; Mackenzie Benjamin, 19, of Kingston; and Aiden Meehen, 20, of Oxford, police said. Police were also seeking a warrant for the arrest of Brennden Ortega, 19, of New Bedford, on similar charges, including resisting arrest.
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In West Roxbury, after the drivers cleared the scene at Home Depot, police went to a parking lot behind the store, where they found Raul Sanchez, 19, and a minor as they were changing a “flat, bald tire” on a Nissan 350Z that was registered in Connecticut, according to the report.
Sanchez was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace, trespassing, and operating with a missing license plate, according to the report.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday in the West Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court and was released on $200 cash bail, according to court records.
How these takeovers are generated
During the arraignments Monday for Cantwell and Bowers, Assistant District Attorney Lisa Deacutis said street takeovers are part of a growing trend that has been seen in cities across the country.
“This phenomenon has been fueled by social media to glorify reckless and often violent behavior,” she said.
After a location is shared on social media and messaging applications, large groups of drivers converge on the location before police are able to respond, she said.
“These coordinated efforts are designed to overwhelm law enforcement presence and maximize online exposure through live streams and video postings,” Deacutis said. “This level of planning demonstrates a deliberate disregard to public safety.”
Some individuals travel from out of state to take part, she added.
“Their lack of ties to the community contributes to a disregard for local residents, property, and spectators,” Deacutis said.
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com. Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.