12-year-old arrested after allegedly threatening victim with knife; firearm seized after fleeing suspects crash in Mattapan

A 12-year-old was arrested on assault charges Sunday after he and a group of children allegedly threatened a victim with a knife, Boston police reported Monday.

After 6 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to reports of a person with a knife near Washington Street and Chilcott Street in Roxbury, the BPD said. The report described five juveniles allegedly threatening a victim with a knife in the area.

At the scene, officers searched the area and found a group matching the description near Montebello Street and Haverford Street, Boston police said. Officers said they searched one suspect and found a knife on him.

The 12-year-old boy was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault with a dangerous weapon. The BPD did not file charges against the other four.

The boy is expected to be arraigned in juvenile court in Boston.

Also on Sunday, Boston police reported that a firearm was seized after suspects fled a traffic stop and crashed their vehicle in Mattapan.

The suspects were first spotted by police early Sunday morning when they drove an Infiniti sedan “abruptly and improperly” into a no-parking zone on Talbot Avenue without using their turn signals, the BPD reported.

Officers said they stopped the car to make a traffic stop and upon closer inspection discovered three men inside.

The officers quickly “encountered several obstacles,” police said, including a passenger who got out of the vehicle and blocked them and shouted at them. Officers approached the vehicle and began to speak to the driver, but he became “confrontational.”

The drivers attempted to drive off and flee while the officer’s upper body remained in the car, the BPD said. The officer was reportedly able to get out quickly and was uninjured.

The two remaining passengers in the car didn’t get far before crashing the vehicle into another parked car, officials said. Officers said they pursued the couple but lost sight of the suspects.

At around 2:30 a.m., police were searching for suspects when they found a firearm in the area where the suspects were last seen.

The weapon was a Smith & Wesson 9 Compact with one 9mm cartridge in the chamber and seven 9mm cartridges in the magazine, BPD reported.