Waltham man arrested for assault following incident at Gilmore Playground

An investigation into a report of a Sunday evening incident involving a gun resulted in a Waltham man’s arrest on an assault charge.

The investigation started after officers received a report around 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 16, about a man with a firearm in his waistband near the area of the Peter Gilmore Playground at 90 Hall St.

Upon arrival, police observed a man matching the report’s description leaving the park toward the intersection of Hall and Chestnut streets. Officers chased the man on foot until they caught and arrested him in front of 36 Cushing St.

Police said a subsequent investigation indicated that the man had allegedly been harassing two groups of juveniles in the area.

One party told police that the man was disturbing them while they were at the park and allegedly assaulted a female in their group. 

The man then chased after another group of children, who told police that they observed an object in his waistband. According to a police spokesperson, there was no report of a firearm being brandished or pointed at people.

Axcel Josue Borhas-Lopez, 20, of 46 Middlesex Road, Waltham, was arrested and charged at 8:31 p.m. with indecent assault and battery of a person aged 14 or over and two counts of assault.

Police searched the area on Sunday night and Monday for evidence of a firearm.

According to The Time’s initial article on the incident, a police K-9 found a shell casing on Hall Street on Sunday night. However, a Police Department spokesperson said investigators do not believe a firearm was involved in this incident.