Prosecutors say the early-morning attack left the guard with a life-threatening thigh wound; a second guard’s vest was slashed.
BOSTON, MA — A Boston Medical Center public safety officer was stabbed outside the hospital campus around 2 a.m. Wednesday, and a Roxbury man was arrested moments later after a struggle with multiple officers, officials said. The guard, in his 20s, reached the trauma unit on his own as colleagues applied a tourniquet.
Prosecutors identified the suspect as Branden Bannister, 37, who was arraigned Wednesday in Boston Municipal Court. He is charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and trafficking crack cocaine over 18 grams. A judge set bail at $50,000. Authorities said the confrontation began as safety officers stopped a visitor they believed was leaving with a patient’s belongings. The hospital said there was no ongoing threat, care continued as normal, and the wounded employee was treated immediately and is recovering.
Police were called to the area near 850 Harrison Ave. just after 2 a.m. Wednesday. According to prosecutors, surveillance video shows Bannister approaching a safety officer and clutching a hoodie pocket before officers deployed pepper spray. During the struggle, one officer realized he had been stabbed in the upper right thigh and “hopped on one leg” toward the entrance before escorting himself to a trauma room, prosecutors said in court. A second guard’s ballistic vest was gashed but that officer was not hurt. “Earlier this morning, Boston Police and Boston Medical Center Public Safety responded to an assault on a staff member on our campus,” hospital spokesperson Drew Gardner said in a statement, adding the hospital remained open and operating normally.
Assistant District Attorney Olivia Izzi told the court the victim’s wound was life-threatening and required rapid treatment, including a tourniquet. Boston police said they recovered a knife and, during booking, seized bags containing a white, rock-like substance believed to be crack cocaine. Prosecutors said the quantity tested over the trafficking threshold of 18 grams. Izzi also noted Bannister is on probation in a separate federal firearms case. Defense attorney Tanvi Verma said her client had been visiting the mother of his child, who had just given birth, and that he left the room at her request with his own belongings. “He was stopped by hospital security, accused of taking items that were his,” Verma said, arguing the clash escalated from there.
The episode unfolded on Boston Medical Center’s South End campus, where public safety officers frequently accompany staff responding to patient and visitor issues. The hospital said the employee was treated immediately and is recovering, though officials did not release his name. The stabbing follows other recent reports of violence against hospital workers statewide, according to labor representatives. “We need our healthcare institutions and our state leaders alike to do more to protect the frontline workers who keep our healthcare system running,” said Cari Medina, an executive vice president with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. City officials did not announce any new security measures Wednesday but said the investigation remains active.
Court records show Bannister faces two assault-and-battery-with-a-dangerous-weapon counts stemming from the stabbing and slashing and one drug-trafficking count. Prosecutors said he was a visitor at the hospital prior to the fight. The court ordered bail set at $50,000; additional conditions, if any, were not disclosed in open court. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from hospital cameras and police body-worn cameras, and they are seeking forensic analysis of the recovered substance. Authorities have not specified the make of the knife or where it was found relative to the struggle. The hospital did not say whether additional officers have been assigned to the campus since the attack.
Records indicate Boston police responded within minutes, and the public safety staff moved the injured guard into “Trauma 3,” where clinicians stabilized him. Prosecutors said the second officer’s vest, described as armored, showed a cut consistent with a blade strike. The District Attorney’s office declined to release the victim’s condition beyond saying the wound was life-threatening at first. Neighbors who passed the campus later Wednesday described flashing lights and a heavy police presence before dawn but said activity returned to normal by midmorning. “It’s scary because this is a hospital,” said South End resident Mariela Santos, who walks by Harrison Avenue on her way to work.
As of Thursday, no additional arrests had been announced. Bannister is due back in court next month, according to prosecutors. Detectives are expected to complete interviews with witnesses and obtain full lab results on the suspected narcotics in the coming weeks. Boston Medical Center said it would continue to support the injured employee and coordinate with police as the case proceeds.
Author note: Last updated December 11, 2025.