Boston transit police say man threatened to stab bus driver before struggle with officers

BOSTON (AP) — A man wielding a butcher knife tried to slash tires and threatened to stab a bus driver at a Boston transit station Friday before being taken into custody, authorities said.

Richard Sullivan, superintendent of police for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said transit officers acted quickly after receiving a radio call about the man at the Forest Hills station late Friday morning. A struggle ensued, during which the suspect tried to grab an officer’s gun, he said. The gun went off, but no one was shot or stabbed.

“This was a violent person armed with a butcher knife,” Sullivan said. “These officers, without hesitation, immediately rushed to the danger while other people were running away from it.”

Two male transit officers, a Boston police officer and the suspect were injured, Sullivan said. According to Boston EMS, six people were taken to the hospital from the station, but Sullivan said he wasn’t aware of the other two.

The incident drew multiple police cars and ambulances to the station, which includes bus, train and subway stops in the city’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The facility’s upper busway was shut down around 11:15 a.m., with service rerouted to another section.

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Associated Press writers Leah Willingham in Boston, and Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed.