A tour guide is sharing how the unnerving crime on Boston Common is impacting walking tours after being punched repeatedly without warning.
It happened weeks ago near the start of the Freedom Trail in America’s oldest public park.
The unprovoked attack is the latest in a series of recent physical and verbal assaults reported by tour guides.
Boston 25 News has learned that several tour companies have changed their routes through the Common or are avoiding it all together.
“You’d think it would be a shining light for the city, but it turns out to be sort of a cesspit,” said Jared, who does not want his last name published.
Jared, a tour guide with the Histrionic Academy, said he was giving a walking tour at 10:30 a.m. when he was punched in front of the crowd.
“He blindsided me,” he recalled. “He was behind me and punching me while I was speaking to the crowd.”
Jared filed a police report and hasn’t received word of an arrest since then.
He and other tour guides said drug use, panhandling and aggressive behavior is tainting what should be a safe place to visit.