By Marcus Cocova
Boston — Emerson students received text and email notifications from Emerson Alert of “an armed person with unknown intent” on Emerson’s Rotch field in Boston’s south end. The notifications went out at 9:56 AM on Tuesday, October 20th, 2021.
The individual who was seen armed with a handgun was taken into police custody and has been identified as 37 year old Ernest Fields. The handgun was confirmed by police to have been loaded.
According to NBC Boston, Fields was said by his father to be homeless and suffering from mental health issues. Over a dozen emergency responders were present at the scene including swat teams.
Field’s sister said his four year old son was able to record a message in an attempt to try to calm him down.
Emerson alert reported the situation as “all clear at 6:05 PM. The final alert was sent out at 10:00PM stating that police activity had ended.
Robert Smith, Emerson’s Chief of Police, declined to comment.