​DNA Links Accused Waltham Attacker To Victim: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Wednesday, March 24. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• History was made in Boston: Kim Janey was sworn in mayor, becoming the city's first Black mayor and the first woman to become mayor there.
• Two people wielding pepper spray and a throwing star attacked and injured a teen.
• Another school committee voted to drop its use of a Native American as mascot.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

The man police say is responsible for the 11 unprovoked attacks across Waltham last fall on unsuspecting men was arraigned Wednesday morning.

During the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunigan said police found blood on boots in Clauvens Janvier's blue Saab.

After having them tested against DNA swabs of the 11 victims, authorities said the DNA in the blood on the boots matched one of the victim's DNA. Read the full story

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Nearby News

• Brookline Students Plan Vigil To Support Asian Community
• Waltham On Track To Return Students Full, In-Person By April 5
• New Comfort Puppy Needs Name, Middlesex DA Opens Contest

Wednesday's Other Top Stories

Water linked to cancer: A study spanning two decades found a link between Wilmington's 1990s water supply and a cluster of childhood cancer cases, the state said Wednesday.
The state found a link between maternal, prenatal exposure to carcinogens in the town's water and childhood cancers during the 1990s. Since 2001, the town's water hasn't posed any known risk to public health, the state said.

Throwing star attack in "ongoing feud:" Two people wielding pepper spray and a throwing star attacked and injured someone under the age of 18 along the Assabet Rail Trail in Marlborough on Tuesday afternoon. According to police, the attack stemmed from an "ongoing feud." The two attackers were arrested and both charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Probe questions police conduct after protest arrest: An independent investigation into the arrest of a Black Lives Matter protester in Swampscott on Dec. 12 determined that while Swampscott police acted properly based on the immediate information they had at the time, some aspects of the post-arrest conduct and investigation were flawed. Police Chief Robert Madigan and town officials requested an independent investigation amid the conflicting reports of the incident and accusations the officers violated the civil rights of the man arrested.

Goodbye, Warrior: The school committee's 5-2 vote puts to rest — for the moment — a divisive issue that nearly ripped Wakefield in half. Some argued the logo was antiquated at best and racist and harmful at worst, while others contended the logo was a tradition-rich way to honor the town's past.

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They Said It

"To think that my teenage grandsons were born at a time when there had never even been a Black woman on our city council. And today, my 6-year-old granddaughter Rosie and other little girls can see themselves represented in Massachusetts' highest court, the halls of Congress, and now in the 55th mayor of Boston."

• Kim Janey, who was sworn in as mayor of Boston on Wednesday, becoming the city's first Black mayor and first woman to become mayor there.