Boston Blotter: The Not-So-Great Escape

This is a rough blotter day, as if people bottled up their emotions over the long weekend and unleashed their worst impulses on the world toward the end.

At the top of the list is a violent attack that erupted at the Back Bay T stop yesterday afternoon, right on the southbound platform. An 18-year-old man was stabbed and left in critical condition. Witnesses said between eight and ten teenagers were involved in the attack. The question is – what's the MBTA going to do to follow up? And what will the BPD do? It's not enough to form committees and hire new appointments, and we won't be impressed until it stops.

Second, this morning a man about to be on trial in the Barnstable courthouse attempted an escape during a transfer and very nearly made it. If an officer hadn't stopped him with a bullet after he stole a car, the prisoner would be in Quebec by now. The guy was shot in the chest and is in critical condition. He'll return to jail – where he'll remain for a lot longer than he would have been there if he hadn't run off.

All charges are alleged until proven under law. Image of Escape from Alcatraz, which the guy didn't quite live up to, from Amazon.