‘All connected’: Randolph police chief links weekend street ‘takeover’ events in Mass.
The Randolph police chief linked together a series of chaotic "street takeovers" that erupted across Massachusetts communities over the weekend, and said the incidents have recently escalated in his own city.
"As of right now, it looks like they are all connected — all of the incidents, specifically the one in Boston, but also Middleborough, Westwood and Norwood and Dedham," said Randolph Police Chief Anthony T. Marag, in a Randolph Town Council meeting held Monday night.
These "street takeovers" have been happening in "various locations" in Randolph for the last two months, Marag said. Police are "trying to backtrack and put the pieces together to see if it's the same crew that's been going around."
"We're seeing that it's escalating, and what happened the other night was absolutely unacceptable," Marag said.
Police departments from Westwood, Norwood and Dedham did not return a request for comment.
John Guilfoil Public Relations, which handles media requests for Marlborough, declined to provide additional information, citing an active investigation. No other law enforcement officials have yet publicly linked the incidents.
Randolph was one of at least four towns or cities in Massachusetts that faced 100-person crowds taking over the streets from late Saturday night into early Sunday morning.
More than 100 people — most in masks, police said — attacked marked police cars with fireworks in Randolph on Sunday at around 1:30 a.m., according to the city's police department . The incident happened at the intersection of Oak Street and North Main Street.
When officers arrived, the crowd began hitting their cruisers with their fists and other objects — then began to set off fireworks, police said.
Members of the crowd then "sat on the hoods of the cruiser and lit fireworks off," while videotaping themselves, police said, "placing the officer inside in extreme danger."
This incident happened around the same time as the one in Boston, where a police cruiser was set on fire by fireworks. A Dodge Charger drove at an officer in Middleborough earlier that night, and an ambulance was blocked while trying to get by on a road in Fall River .
Back in June, another "car meetup" near a BJ's in Dedham turned deadly when two 20-year-old men were shot — one of them fatally.
As of September, two men face charges of murder , armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license in connection with the double shooting, the district attorney's office said.
While no arrests have been made in connection with the incidents on Sunday in Randolph or Marlborough, Randolph police are looking to identify suspects through cruiser camera and surveillance camera footage.
"We are going to be charging, we are going to be arresting. The courts will give warrants related to this. It's a bigger issue, I think, than people think," Marag said on Monday.
"But it's not unique to Randolph ... it's been ongoing everywhere, especially across the country — it's a trend that's come this way now, but it needs to be addressed," he said.
These "street takeovers," also known as "car meetups" and "car shows," are not new and have been a nationwide problem since 2020. They're coordinated through social media and involve dozens or hundreds of cars meeting up in one location to do doughnuts, race and drive recklessly.
Seven people were arrested across the state in connection with Sunday's "takeovers." This included Julian Bowers, 18, and William Cantwell, both from Rhode Island, and suspected participants in the Boston incident.
The other five were arrested in connection with the Fall River incident. This includes: 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.
The Randolph chief said he would be meeting with detectives in Norfolk County in the upcoming week, and that Gov. Maura Healey was fully aware of the issue.
"Street takeovers" was recently brought up by police chiefs as a concern during a series of roundtable meetings the governor had with local crime prosecution leaders, which Marag attended.
Healey told MassLive these meetups are "completely destructive, dangerous and against the law."
"I am disgusted by this behavior and will be taking action to support law enforcement and hold accountable anyone who attacks our police and communities to the fullest extent of the law," Healey said in a statement on Tuesday.
Though prosecutors requested a $20,000 bail and a $15,000 bail for the two men charged in connection with the Boston incident, the bail was set at $1,000 and $500 , respectively. Those arrested in connection with the Fall River incident were released on personal recognizance.
Street "takeovers"
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