The terror of street violence

One of the things I appreciate about Boston is that most neighborhoods are quite safe compared to other cities of comparable size. Today, however, I witnessed a terrifying scene in the middle of the underground walking tunnel leading to the Downtown Crossing metro platforms. Maybe for someone used to violence it would have been no big deal but I grew up in a small town and can’t remember ever witnessing any kind of street fight, not even the minor ones that often happen in high schools. Or maybe it was just my imagination coupled with mainstream media’s focus on violent crimes which caused me to blow the situation out of proportion. Here’s what happened, and you can be the judge:

I was walking in one of the underground passageways between the orange and red lines when I heard someone struggling and shouting things like “I’m not going to let you escape”, “You’re not getting away”. I uneasily kept walking and noticed two men struggling; one of them, who looked like a security guard, had the other guy in some kind of restraint hold, and the other one was trying to get away. A couple other people around were unsure of what to do and watching from a distance to see what would happen. I didn’t know what to do so I just kept walking, past them, when the security guard saw me and yelled out, “Someone call the police!” This is the point where my imagination started to go wild because clearly the guard didn’t have the situation under control if he wanted random strangers to call the police for him. I quickly scanned the area for weapons: not to defend myself, but to know what to expect in case the apparent wrongdoer freed himself and either he or the security guard became violent.

All the terrifying depictions I’ve seen on the news and in movies, both of police brutality and criminal violence, flashed through my mind. Would there be a shoot out? Would there be a stabbing? Would the criminal try to take a hostage? I was relieved to see an apparent lack of weapons, but still tried to get away from the situation as quickly as possible. Once I reached the ticket barrier about 30 yards away I fumbled for my ticket and got across as soon as possible, feeling a bit safer with a barrier between myself and the situation. I was debating calling the police, clueless as to what I would say, but feeling the need to do something, when I saw two more security guards running towards the scene. Together, the three of them were able to quickly restrain and handcuff the other man and lead him away.

I was shaken for quite some time afterwards, imagining what could have happened. My mind continuously returned to one topic: gun control. I’ve never really had to consider that topic from such a personal experience. I’m not going to go into my own opinions about the political issue because it’s quite complicated, and my thoughts on it are uncertain. But I know this much: if one or both of them had had a gun, the situation could have escalated quickly, and there could have been fatalities. I could have been killed or witnessed a death. That thought chills me to the bone.

Call me sheltered for this being the only real episode of violence I’ve witnessed firsthand, but I couldn’t help but be scared. Would you have been?