Bail set at $5,000 for man charged with shooting Palestine supporter in the stomach at Newton rally; also ordered to give up his guns

A Framingham man charged with shooting a man who tackled him at a hostage-release rally in Newtonville yesterday had bail set today at $5,000 cash and was ordered to give up his three guns at his arraignment on a single charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Besides setting bail and banning him from owning guns, Newton District Court Judge Jennifer Queally also ordered Scott Hayes, 47, to stay out of the entire city of Newton and ordered him to stay at home between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. while his case is pending, court records show. To ensure he's obeying the stay-away order and curfew, Queally ordered him to wear a GPS monitor.

Last night, Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan said Hayes would also face a civil-rights charge; however, court records today show only the assault-and-battery charge was filed.

The shot man, 31 and a Newton resident, was conscious and breathing when first responders got to him, but he was taken to the hospital with injuries considered life-threatening. In a statement today, Ryan and acting Newton Police Chief George McMains said he is expected to survive.

According to a video of the incident, the victim ran across the street and lunged at Hayes, knocking him to the ground as others ran to try to separate them. Hayes, an Iraq War veteran, got out a gun and shot the man in the stomach.

Ryan and McMains reported:

The preliminary investigation suggests that, at approximately 6:40 p.m., Scott Hayes, 47 of Framingham, was standing on the corner of Harvard and Washington streets demonstrating with a small group. Another man, identified as a 31-year-old Newton resident, was walking on the other side of the street when he began shouting comments at the demonstrators. A verbal exchange ensued. The Newton man then ran across the street and tackled Hayes to the ground. An altercation followed during which Hayes allegedly shot the Newton man.

Hayes has become a common sight at pro-Israel rallies, where he specializes in trying to get into the faces of Palestine supporters.

"I encourage all of us to be calm, speak civilly, and act respectfully," Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said.

The Jewish Community Relations Council issued a statement about the incident:

Last night, at a small demonstration in support of the October 7 hostages in Newton, MA, there was a violent altercation and an individual was hospitalized. While the details of what happened are still being investigated, there should be no question that violence of any kind in our democratic society is abhorrent. People' s right to gather in civil, non-violent public demonstrations must be sacrosanct.

We welcome and thank Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and Middlesex DA Marian Ryan' s outreach to us at JCRC, and to other community leaders, late last night and their briefing on the investigation — along with steps being taken to reassure the public and our community. While some charges have already been filed, we urge patience as a full investigation unfolds, and we encourage Mayor Fuller and DA Ryan to continue to continue to fully communicate with the public and the community regarding the investigation and the rationale for those charges filed and for any additional charges that may be filed.

We have been in communication with our partners at ADL New England and CJP' s communal security initiative and we are committed to continuing to work with them and all our community partners to ensure the continued full and responsive support of our law enforcement and public safety agencies at this fraught time.

We take this moment to note that over the last eleven months, across our region there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of standouts for the hostages taken on October 7th. These rallies, demonstrations, runs and walks for the victims, a ‘hostage tunnel' exhibit at Boston City Hall Plaza, and other ways in which our community and allies have come together to demand the return of the hostages to their families have all been peaceful and without incident.

Regardless of motive or his role in the initiation of the violence, we pray for the full recovery of the individual who was injured last night.

Innocent, etc.