TEWKSBURY, Mass. — Police say they were called to Tewksbury State Hospital on Monday afternoon for another allegedly violent incident.
Tewksbury police say they were called to the Nichols Building, which hosts a second-step detox, for a report of an assault.
Police say a 45-year-old patient allegedly assaulted another patient with a sharp object after accusing him of stealing.
Staff separated the men before police arrived but the 45-year-old suspect will be arraigned in Lowell District Court on Tuesday morning.
The alleged assault comes after Tewksbury State Hospital staff members told Boston 25 News last week that they are growing increasingly concerned for their safety.
“This incident once again underscores the daily safety risks present on the campus of Tewksbury State Hospital,” said Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus. “The individual involved reportedly has 129 entries on their criminal record. We are fortunate the situation did not result in serious injury or loss of life.
Last Friday, police say a patient punched a staffer twice in the face. On Thursday, police say, a patient smashed a hospital window before barricading herself into a bathroom. Those two incidents just days after a man, who was visiting his brother at the hospital, was charged with pushing a chair into a pregnant nurse while the brother was having a health emergency.
Police and union officials say the incidents are happening after hospital policies changed, banning hospital security from using handcuffs, pepper spray, or collapsible batons.
“There is an epidemic of violence at this facility,” Tewksbury hospital nurse Ryan Wilkins, a union official, told Boston 25.
Wilkins tells me the nurses’ union is calling for an emergency meeting between state leaders and front-line workers, but he says the request is falling on deaf ears.
“We largely feel that we’ve been left out to dry here. It’s disheartening, it’s disappointing, and it’s scary altogether,” he said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
