New video shows the moments a man in a gas mask walks up to a courthouse in Woburn, Massachusetts, and forces his way inside while pepper-spraying officers on Monday.
He was quickly tackled and subdued by several officers while other people in the lobby of Woburn District Court scattered, as seen on the video, provided by a representative for the court. The building was evacuated because of the incident, which Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan referred to in a statement Monday as an "attack on the Court, the Court staff and the Justice system."
The man was identified as Nicholas Akerberg, a 28-year-old from Yarmouth Port. He was arraigned hours after the incident in the same courthouse, and ordered held without bail on charges including assault and battery, bomb threat and disrupting a court proceeding, while having bail revoked in other cases.
At a news conference Tuesday, Ryan called the video "terrifying."
The man "barreling past that court officer, barreling past that metal detector, it's very frightening," she said.
Three court officers, along with Akerberg, were briefly hospitalized after the incident at about 10:30 a.m., prosecutors have said.
U.S. & World
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Wearing the gas mask, helmet and tactical boots, Akerberg allegedly sprayed court officers, a police officer from Stoneham and a prosecutor while punching and shoving people, according to prosecutors.
A Taser was used as the officers worked to subdue Akerberg, leading to his arrest, prosecutors said, noting that he was found with eight cannisters of pepper spray and two smoke cannisters.
The three officers were were taken to a hospital were later released, as was Akerberg, prosecutors said.
Ryan said the incident Monday "was the third serious incident at a courthouse since March 10," and "is a critical reminder of the need to foster respect for our courts and our dedicated court staffs."
