UPDATE July 13, 8:05 p.m.: Charges have been dropped. “Based on the totality of circumstances, however, including confirmation that the cartridges on said belt could not and weren’t intended to be fired, prosecutors dismissed the charges at arraignment in Brighton Municipal Court,” the Suffolk County District Attorney said.
A 26-year-old Watertown man rocking a pair of “spiked fighting gloves,” some “spiked leather bracelets,” and a 69-bullet belt of fake ammunition caused what Boston Police described as a “real panic” as he rode an MBTA bus through Allston on Friday afternoon.
According to bpdnews.com, the bullet belt, long a fashion accessory of metal heads and punks everywhere, and other garments made passengers worry that the guy would eventually pull out a weapon and open fire on the bus. So the driver pulled over as passengers called 911 and police apprehended the man after he exited the vehicle on Cambridge Street.
Here’s the word from the official website of the Boston Police Department, via a post titled Fake Ammo Causes Real Panic on MBTA Bus in Brighton:
At about 4:20 PM on Friday July 10, 2015, officers assigned to District D-14 (Brighton) responded to a call for a person with a gun on an MBTA bus in the area of Cambridge and Harvard Streets. Officers learned that the driver had pulled the bus over as passengers began calling 911 when a male suspect boarded the bus with what appeared to be military grade ammunition strapped around his waist. The driver stated that the passengers were in a panic, fearing that the suspect was about to pull out a weapon.
The suspect, later identified as Kevin Young, 26, of Watertown, exited the bus and was stopped by police on Penniman Road at which time it was discovered that the ammunition was fake. Officers recovered 69 replica bullets in all. The suspect was wearing what was described as spiked fighting gloves and spiked leather bracelets.
The suspect was placed in custody and will appear in Brighton District Court on charges of Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Unlawfully Carried Dangerous Weapon and Disorderly Conduct.
We think Young is a member of the band Hexxus, described as “Heavy Crust // D-Beat Destruction” on Facebook.
Here’s the guy:
For reference, here’s Dave Mustaine of Megedeth from back in the day, rocking what we imagine is a similar bullet belt. So we figure Young is just your regular friendly metalhead riding the MBTA trying to get from somewhere to someplace else.
More information to come, if anything develops…
