A Somerville man is accused of wielding an ax against a woman in Statue Park.
Officers were dispatched to the Davis Square park shortly before noon Oct. 10 for a call that a man was “chasing people with an ax.” When officers arrived, they saw Mohamed Benaksas, 42, holding a “hatchet-type ax” over his head while yelling at onlookers, according to a police arrest log. Police said they asked Benaksas to drop the ax multiple times before he threw it into the street, when he was restrained by officers.
Benaksas had been earlier arguing with bystanders and had “slapped a cigarette out of someone’s mouth,” police said from witness statements. When told by a woman to stop yelling, Benaksas said he “had something for her,” took out the ax and began swinging it at her, police said. She retreated while others tried to stop the attack, and swung the ax at them while pursuing her, police said.
When she tried to turn and run, Benaksas planted the ax in the ground and tackled her from behind, witnesses told police. He retrieved the ax and was standing over her when bystanders created a human shield and forced him toward the street. That’s when police arrived.
Benaksas is a homeless man who was known to the Somerville Homeless Coalition, which has offices in Davis Square across from the park. Several members of the coalition saw the assault and tried to intervene and disarm Benaksas before police arrived, according to the log.
Benaksas was arrested, then arraigned in Somerville District Court the same day. After first being denied bail in a dangerousness hearing, he was granted a $5,000 bonded bail on Tuesday but could not post it. He remains committed to Middlesex County Jail. If he posts bail and is released, Benaksas is ordered to not contact victims or witnesses, according to court documents. Benaksas’ lawyers filed a petition Thursday for the Middlesex County Superior Court to review the bail order.
A stronger
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Good to know that in Davis square the threshold of government endorsed behavior is somewhere in between open air fentanyl dealing and hatchet assault
How the heck does this guy potentially get to post bail…
Is this the same guy that was referenced as Mohamed Mohamed in the Boston Glibe’s article about homelessness in Davis Square last week? The ages match up.
I can certainly ask Julia to ask Somerville police. Answer not guaranteed!
It’s like the Somerville gov looked at early 90’s Tompkins square Park and said, you know what, let’s do that.