Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- September 6, 2020
- Location
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Targets
- Ted Wayman (WCVB-TV)
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
- Equipment Broken
- Actor
- Private individual
Equipment Damage
Man sentenced for stabbing reporter with scissors
The man who attacked WCVB-TV reporter Ted Wayman while he was reporting in Boston’s Copley Square was sentenced on Aug. 12, 2022, to two years in jail, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office confirmed via email to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Wayman was sitting in his news vehicle the night of Sept. 6, 2020, when Cirilo Aldana-Peraedes approached him with scissors and stabbed at the passenger’s side window, according to a police report of the incident. When Wayman attempted to close the van door, Aldana-Peraedes stabbed him in the left forearm. Wayman was taken to the hospital for treatment of what police called a “severe” injury, but was back at work days later.
Aldana-Peraedes pleaded guilty to one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of malicious destruction of property.
WCVB-TV reporter Ted Wayman was assaulted while reporting in Boston’s Copley Square on Sept. 6, 2020. A station spokesperson told the Boston Globe that Wayman was taken to a hospital and is “going to be fine.”
According to a police report posted online by the Boston Police Department, officers were called to the intersection of Dartmouth and Boylston streets shortly after 9 p.m. to investigate a stabbing. A victim said an individual had been “antagonizing” him and others throughout the day.
“The victim stated when he asked the suspect to leave him alone, the suspect responded by taking out a pair of scissors,” the report said. The man then began stabbing at the passenger’s side window of the victim’s van, scratching the glass.
The report continued, “As the victim attempted to close the door to the van, the suspect stabbed him on the left forearm causing a severe laceration.”
The Globe identified WCVB’s Wayman as the victim, and the station confirmed that he had been stabbed while reporting on a story in Copley Square. BPD told the Globe it could not comment on or confirm the incident.
Police arrested a suspect, identified as Cirilo Aldana-Peraedes, a few blocks from the scene; he has been charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.
The photojournalist working alongside Wayman was uninjured in the attack and helped treat Wayman’s injuries before he was taken to a local hospital, the Globe reported.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
