On Tuesday about 11:15 a.m., police responded to a report of a man walking in the Arnold Arboretum carrying a rifle. An Arboretum official praised police for their quick reaction, but the patrols didn’t turn up any such armed man.
Here’s what scanner listener stacos heard:
JAMAICA PLAIN: Dude, possb. Armed w/ a Rifle seen going into the Woods at the, Arnold Arboretum, lots o BPD swarming #1116am
— Communication Center (@stacos) August 12, 2014
Boston Police Officer Neva Coakley said officers made an extensive search of the area, but found no one matching the description.
“The good news is police were highly responsive,” said Jon Hetman, communications and stewardship officer for the Harvard University tree museum.
The normally-safe Arboretum was the scene of two worrying incidents in June. In the first, three young women were pushed down and robbed. Police recovered the stolen property and made two arrests. Later in June, a woman was sexually assaulted and robbed, allegedly by a man out on bail for an earlier rape.
[selfie]