DA: Winthrop man pointed fake gun at passing cars during setup of Fourth of July parade
A Winthrop man is on house arrest after being accused of pointing a replica weapon at passing cars during setup of the city’s Independence Day parade on Saturday.
Gregory Gill, 23, sat atop a military vehicle in a Revere Street parking lot and pointed what looked like an assault weapon at passing vehicles, the Suffolk District Attorney’s office said. In one instance, two people in a car heard him say, “Head shot, boom,” according to prosecutors.
The pair flagged down a Winthrop police officer to report the incident. Prosecutors said Gill was arrested after a replica weapon was found inside the military vehicle.
“We just witnessed six people slaughtered as they attended a July 4th parade outside Chicago. At this national moment in America, one can only begin to fathom the terror of seeing an apparent assault weapon pointed at you,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “This incident reminds us that a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands can change lives and communities in an instant. This man’s victims had no reason to believe that the gun trained on them was anything short of the real thing. My office is treating these acts with the seriousness they deserve.”
Gill was arraigned Tuesday morning on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. Bail was set at $500, and Gill was ordered to remain under house arrest and not possess any firearms. He must also submit to GPS monitoring and stay away from the identified victims.
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