Machete Attacker Eludes Police

The machete-wielding attacker who struck a man on Jan. 21 in “The Pit” remains at large, according to the Cambridge Police Department.

At approximately 5:15 p.m. last Thursday, the victim attempted to separate two men fighting in the sunken area between the Out of Town News newsstand and the T entrance. One of the men then pulled a machete out of his backpack and struck the victim on the left shoulder.

Cambridge Police were called to the scene and the victim was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he was later released.

Despite searching The Pit, Brattle Street, and Harvard Yard shortly after the attack, police officers were not able to find the suspect. Jennifer Flagg of the Cambridge Police Department said that witnesses described the attacker as a white male who is approximately 25 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and between 150-180 pounds.

Harvard student Anna M. Remus ’13 echoed the sentiment of shock expressed by many Harvard students in response to the unusual and violent altercation.

“That’s just ridiculous. Why would you try to break up a street fight? I’m not saying you should carry around a machete, but common sense is kind of missing here,” she said.

Last week’s attack was the first in a series of recent knife-related incidents in the Square. A police scanner chatter issued yesterday stated that a man was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified individual on Dunster Street in Harvard Square around 3:00 p.m. Another chatter soon followed, stating that there were two men in the area with knives: one was said to be carrying a butterfly knife, while the other was identified as wielding a box cutter.

Joseph Rizkallah, owner of the local Middle Eastern restaurant Sabra Grill, said he believes that this level of violence in Harvard Square is unusual compared to his experiences living in the area.

“I have been here for 20 years, okay. There have never been any problems, really,” he said. “It’s a safe area and there’s never been too much crime.”

Despite the recent incidents, Rizkallah said he will continue to feel secure because of the proximity and presence of police officers in the Square.

—Staff writer Barbara B. DePena can be reached at barbara.b.depena@college.harvard.edu.