Video shows man in gas mask storming into Woburn courthouse, deploying pepper spray
Security video from outside Woburn District Court showed Akerberg walking up the front steps dressed in all black with a gas mask, black gloves, and a helmet about 10:30 a.m. Monday.
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As a court officer opened the door to speak to him, Akerberg began running toward the door, pointed a spray can at her, and released a mist of pepper spray, according to the video.
The court officer quickly closed the door but Akerberg pried it back open and shoved past the officer while continuing to spray her and rushed into the lobby toward the doors to the main chamber of the courthouse, according to the video and a police report.
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Video from inside the lobby showed court visitors making their way through security and a metal detector before Akerberg came running in.
The guard who met him at the door chased Akerberg through the metal detector, but he only made it a few more steps before another officer ran over and knocked him to the ground with an extended arm, according to the video.
That officer and the guard wrestled Akerberg down onto a bench where two women had been sitting. Akerberg still had the can of spray in his hand and appeared to deploy more spray as two other officers jumped in to help, according to the video.
More officers swarmed Akerberg as court visitors standing in the lobby and sitting on nearby benches cleared away. Some officers could be seen rubbing their eyes and using their arms to shield their faces.
About a half dozen officers worked to pin down Akerberg and place him in custody. Prosecutors said Akerberg allegedly punched and shoved several people during the struggle.
In a police report on the incident, a Woburn officer said they twice used a Taser on Akerberg before they could place him in handcuffs and leg shackles.
Four court officers, a Stoneham court prosecutor, and an assistant district attorney were all sprayed during the incident, according to the police report.
The courthouse was evacuated following the incident.
Akerberg was ordered held without bail and was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a mental health evaluation, according to court records. He is due back in court May 2 for a detention hearing.
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In addition to assault , Akerberg is also facing charges of disrupting a court proceeding, disorderly conduct, bomb threat and intimidation, the district attorney's office said.
Court records show Akerberg has multiple pending cases against him. He was due in Woburn court on Monday for a hearing in a case stemming from April 2024, when Akerberg was accused of using pepper spray on a neighbor in his apartment building in Stoneham. In that case, he is facing charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violating a harassment prevention order, according to court records.
In a police report filed in the 2024 case, a Stoneham officer wrote that Akerberg has been known to police since 2006 and has 'exhibited bizarre behavior for some time, with his state deteriorating mainly since 2016.'
Court officers in Woburn were also familiar with Akerberg, whose address is now listed in Yarmouth, and knew of his struggles with mental health, police wrote in the report from Monday's incident.
Akerberg's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
Nick Stoico can be reached at
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