DA: Boston woman charged with attacking 13-year-old boy at MBTA station

BOSTON — A Mattapan woman who attacked and wounded a 13-year-old boy at a South Boston MBTA station last week is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced on Monday.

Monica Velez-Caraballo, 35, was charged in South Boston Municipal court on Thursday with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and disorderly conduct on a public conveyance. Velez-Caraballo’s bail on an existing assault case out of Roxbury was revoked pending these new charges.

On Thursday, March 9, MBTA police responded to a call around 7:30 a.m. at Andrew Station for a juvenile who had been attacked and suffered a laceration to his face, Hayden said.

The boy told police he was waiting for a bus with some friends and a woman he did not know was walking around the bus stop yelling “obscenities.” Without provocation, the woman walked up to the boy and hit him in the face with a soda can that had jagged edges, according to Hayden.

A few minutes after the police arrived, the boy confirmed Velez-Caraballo was his attacker and she was arrested. Velez-Caraballo told police “They started it. They threw a chemical on my skin and it’s burning me.”

Officers observed Velez-Caraballo to be suffering from no obvious skin redness or irritation consistent with a chemical burn. Officers recovered a ginger ale soda can with jagged lower edges from the busway.

Boston EMS transported the boy to a hospital for treatment of his facial laceration.

“This is an extremely frightening experience for a 13-year-old, or anyone else, who is doing nothing more than waiting at a bus stop with the appropriate expectation of safety and security. I’m grateful for his alertness in pointing out his attacker to the police. These are the types of incidents that degrade our community and we take them very seriously,” Hayden said.

Velez-Caraballo was held on $15,000 bail and ordered to stay away from Andrew Station and the victim.

Velez-Caraballo will return to court on April 6 for a pre-trial hearing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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