Man stabbed in Boston Common; Witness films suspect riding away on bike

BOSTON – Police are investigating a stabbing in the Boston Common Saturday afternoon during the busy holiday weekend. 

Boston Police said a man was stabbed just after 3 p.m. Witnesses told WBZ-TV they saw a group of people gathered near the Boylston MBTA Station when two men started fighting. 

“I glanced over again I saw the guy that walked over to his bike to leave, and I glanced over at the other guy and I see red all over his arms,” said witness Don Saarela. “So I knew this wasn’t good.” 

Saarela said he pulled out his phone to record one of the men riding away on a bicycle. 

WBZ-TV photographers saw that same bike at a separate scene one block from the site of the stabbing with an evidence marker placed in front of it. A man was also taken into custody there. Boston Police have not confirmed if that scene or arrest is related to Saturday’s stabbing. 

Saarela said he saw the victim stumble from the Common, across Tremont Street, to the front of the Parkside Condominium building, where first responders found him with non-life-threatening injuries.

“I hope he’s okay. But I just don’t know,” said Saarela. “I just can’t stand the violence. I just want it to end.” 

The Common was packed with tourists, who walked and noticed evidence markers on the ground as police work to figure out what happened.  

Brandon Truitt

Brandon Truitt joined WBZ-TV in January 2022 after working as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WPRI in Providence, Rhode Island. Before WPRI, Truitt worked at WNCT in Greenville, North Carolina, where he began his career in broadcast journalism.