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Somerville man arrested for threatening passengers at Riverside Station

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — A Somerville man has been arrested for allegedly threatening MBTA passengers at Riverside Station Friday morning.

MBTA Transit Police were called to Riverside Station in Newton at 6 a.m. Friday for a man reportedly swinging a weapon at passengers.

When police arrived, witnesses told them a man was threatening to hit passengers in the face with an elongated stick while on the platform. That man was later identified as 47-year-old Richard Bothelo of Somerville.

Police say Bothelo got onto a Green Line train and began swinging the stick at passengers while screaming profanities, scaring passengers as well as delaying the train at the start of rush hour.

Bothelo was arrested for assault by means of a dangerous weapon.

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