Visiting Harvard Law professor arrested after allegedly firing pellet gun near Brookline synagogue

""From what we were initially told by police, the individual was unaware that he lived next to, and was shooting his BB gun next to, a synagogue or that it was a religious holiday," Temple Beth Zion leaders wrote. "It was potentially dangerous to use a BB gun in such a populated spot, but it does not appear to have been fuelled [sic] by antisemitism.""

"A visiting Harvard Law School professor was arrested in Brookline last week after he allegedly fired a pellet rifle outside a Brookline synagogue where congregants were marking the start of Yom Kippur. Carlos Portugal Gouvea, 46, told Brookline police officers he was using the rifle to hunt rats in the area near Temple Beth Zion, according to an Oct. 1 arrest report."

A visiting Harvard Law School professor was arrested in Brookline after allegedly firing a pellet rifle outside Temple Beth Zion as congregants marked the start of Yom Kippur. Carlos Portugal Gouvea, 46, told police he was using the rifle to hunt rats near the synagogue. The incident prompted a lockdown during the Kol Nidre service and led synagogue leadership to state there is no reason to believe the event was antisemitic. A private security guard heard shots, engaged Gouvea, and a brief physical struggle occurred before he fled to his apartment building. Gouvea pleaded not guilty to multiple charges and was released on personal recognizance.

Read at Boston.com