Homeless suspect in Boston Common stabbing held on $1M bail

BOSTON - The homeless man charged with stabbing two park rangers on Boston Common was ordered held Wednesday on $1 million bail.

Bodio Hutchinson, 34, was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges of assault and battery on a public employee, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and armed assault with intent to murder.

He was also held without bail on warrants sought by probation officers for violating the terms of suspended sentences received for prior convictions.

His lawyer said he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and does not remember Tuesday's attack.

Meanwhile, the more seriously injured of the two rangers is improving.

The 46-year-old veteran ranger, who was in critical condition when he was brought to Massachusetts General Hospital Tuesday for surgery on stab wounds to the abdomen, is expected to survive, Boston police Sgt. Michael McCarthy said.

His 23-year-old colleague with less serious injuries was treated at Tufts Medical Center. He was expected to be released Wednesday, said Ryan Woods, a spokesman for the city parks department.

Their names have not been made public.

The rangers, who do not carry guns, were attacked after they approached the man about 4:30 p.m. as he sat on the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the park, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said.

"He lunged at both officers and stabbed them multiple times," Evans said.

The commissioner said witnesses followed the man and provided cellphone video to police. A knife was recovered from a nearby pond.

Hutchinson has a "violent, assaultive past history," including warrants involving drugs and assault on a police officer, Evans said.

Mayor Martin Walsh said rangers have patrolled the 50-acre park for years and will continue to do so. He said usually two to four rangers go on patrol and don't encounter any problems. The mayor said officials will consider if rangers need more equipment or staffing.

"I think we have to look at the manpower and see if we need to increase it," he said.

The Common dates to 1634. It is a popular spot with tourists and locals, and often the site of concerts, holiday celebrations, winter ice skating and other public gatherings. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope John Paul II have each spoken there; violence there is rare.