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2d ago

Two R.I. Teens Arraigned After Boston Police Cruiser Set Ablaze in South End Takeover

Police are reviewing video to identify more participants from related takeovers in Boston-area communities.

Several police vehicles sit by the intersection of Northeast 148th Avenue and Halsey Street on Saturday, April 19, 2025. Police had stopped the driver of a silver Audi sedan, who fled from officers working a street takeover mission and took them into Vancouver and back into Portland.
Fire engulfs a police cruiser at Mass Ave. and Tremont Street Sunday morning during a police response to a drag racing street takeover, October 5, 2025. (Video still courtesy External Affairs Porter)
The Boston Police headquarters, in Boston, on June 9, 2021.
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Overview

  • Julian Bowers, 18, of Cumberland, and William Cantwell, 19, of Warwick, pleaded not guilty in Roxbury District Court, with bail set at $500 for Bowers and $1,000 for Cantwell.
  • Investigators say more than 100 people blocked Massachusetts Avenue and Tremont Street as fireworks, cones and poles were thrown at marked cruisers, igniting one vehicle; no officers were reported injured.
  • Boston Fire Department crews extinguished the burning cruiser, which was towed from the scene after the crowd was dispersed using department-issued equipment.
  • A similar takeover in Randolph around 1:30 a.m. featured masked participants striking cruisers and lighting fireworks on their hoods, and State Police reported a separate Middleborough meetup where a driver nearly struck an officer.
  • Mayor Michelle Wu, Police Commissioner Michael Cox, Gov. Maura Healey and Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden condemned the violence and said additional arrests are expected as tips and videos are analyzed.