Man shot in the face by police near Forest Hills identified and arraigned

A Roxbury man faced a judge this week following an incident near the Forest Hills MBTA station Thursday, when he was shot by police after allegedly injuring two officers with his vehicle.

On July 18, around 8 p.m., Boston police responded to a radio call at 66 Hyde Park Ave. reporting a BMW X7 stolen from an Abington auto body shop, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Police approached the man, later identified as Eyad Abbas, 23, and after a brief conversation, police said Abbas attempted to flee the scene by putting the car in reverse, injuring the first officer whose hands were on the door handle and fender of the vehicle.

Abbas drove into the second officer, who discharged his service weapon, shooting Abbas in the face and forcing him to crash into a parked car, authorities said. The collision left the officer with broken bones and lacerations, including a “large head wound that was bleeding profusely,” according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.

Abbas and the second officer were transported and treated at local hospitals, authorities said. A passenger in the vehicle refused to speak to police and was not arrested.

Abbas, who has a seven-page record of arrests and indictments dating back to 2019, was charged at West Roxbury BMC with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury, District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. He was ordered held without bail Monday pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for July 29.

Hayden said the incident could have “played out very differently, both for the defendant and the officers involved.”

“This is the type of extremely dangerous behavior that can lead to the worst consequences,” Hayden said. “It’s another reminder of how quickly the daily responsibilities of a police officer can take a dangerous turn.”