Police: Two People Attacked In Dedham Square Saturday Night

DEDHAM, MA - A female employee of Dedham's Horse Thieves Tavern said in a WBZ-TV news report Tuesday night that she and a coworker were brutally attacked late Saturday night by a group of teenagers at the restaurant, located across the street from the police station.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she responded to a bang on the window of the establishment, located at 585 High St., at closing time at 11:30 p.m. When she told the youths, mostly girls, to step away from the window, a female said to her, "What did you say, white woman?"

"And I turned to walk in, and something or someone knocked me out," the woman said.

In the broadcast, the woman said she thought she was going to die.

“I woke up on the ground," she said. "I was just surrounded by people kicking me and smashing at my head. They were stomping."

When an employee tried to help her, the woman said her colleague was dragged by her hair onto the sidewalk and attacked.

Dedham police released a statement Tuesday about Saturday's incident on Twitter.

"Officers from the Dedham Police Department observed and responded to a disturbance in the area of Washington and High Streets at approximately 11:30 p.m.," according to the statement. "Officers encountered and stabilized a chaotic scene."

Police confirmed that "an altercation took place between a group of juveniles in the area of the bus stop and employees of an area business."

"Two individuals suffered injuries as a result of this altercation," police said, noting that they were transported to a hospital for evaluation."

The investigation is ongoing, and police urge anyone with information about this incident to contact the Dedham Police Department.

Police confirmed Wednesday morning in an email that there is no additional information available at this time.

Children's book author Peter Reynolds owns the Blue Bunny bookstore next door. His works focus on messages of peace and inclusion. His "Ukrainian peace print" image went viral in March, garnering $15,000 from proceeds of its sale for UNICEF within three weeks' time to aid Ukrainian refugees.

Peter Reynolds, Paul's twin brother and co-owner of the bookstore, said in an email Tuesday night that the incident "was a really horrific event."

This incident is similar to encounters with groups of teens that have been occurring over the past month in downtown Boston. Two weeks ago, three juveniles were arrested after attacking customers and workers at a Boston McDonalds. According to Boston police, after attemping to apprehend the teens after a second incident, "one of the juveniles hit an officer and kicked another in the genitals."