Noah Walsh was walking home from a party with two friends early on Sunday, October 4, when a stranger plunged a knife into his neck near Highgate and Cambridge streets in Allston. The 23-year-old says he is lucky to be alive, and he is now pushing Boston to invest more in mental health resources so another stranger in crisis never gets the chance to attack someone else.
Walsh told CBS News that he lost consciousness after realizing a stranger had stabbed him, passing out from blood loss and shock with the blade still lodged in his neck. Doctors later told him the knife came within one millimeter of his jugular vein, according to the same report. One of his two friends suffered a punctured lung in the attack, while the other sustained a gash running from his ear to his chin.
Walsh was rushed to the trauma unit at Mass General Brigham, where CT scans showed the blade had penetrated major muscle tissue before stopping just short of his jugular, according to Universal Hub. “It's really a shame,” Walsh said, reflecting on how close the attack came to killing him, per the CBS News account. He added that a deeper wound might have been fatal.
A Second Public Crisis Led Police to the Suspect
Boston Police did not immediately identify a suspect after the Allston attack. Four days later, on October 8 at around 4:54 p.m., officers arrested 24-year-old Joshua Flores in front of 444 Western Avenue after responding to reports of a man swinging a large blade and talking to himself near Leo M. Birmingham Parkway and Waverly Street in Brighton, according to the Boston Police Department. Officers recovered a machete from the sidewalk and a stained folding knife in Flores's pocket.
An auto shop worker on Western Avenue who spotted Flores shortly before the arrest described him as confused and angry while holding the machete, prompting bystanders to call police, as reported by CBS News. Surveillance video from ABC Auto Works captured Flores walking along Western Avenue with the weapon just before officers moved in.
Confession Leads to Mayhem and Assault Charges
According to court records and police statements cited by CBS News, Flores confessed to investigators that he stabbed each of the three men once. Prosecutors charged him with three counts of armed assault with intent to murder, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and two counts of mayhem — charges that under Massachusetts law carry heavy penalties for permanent disfigurement or crippling injury. Court documents also state that multiple witnesses saw Flores waving a machete and talking to himself before his arrest.
During a court proceeding in Brighton Municipal Court, Judge Connie Wong ordered Flores committed to Bridgewater State Hospital for a competency evaluation, Universal Hub reports. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 3. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 123, Section 15, courts can commit a criminal defendant to a psychiatric facility or Bridgewater State Hospital for temporary inpatient evaluations lasting 20 to 40 days to determine competency to stand trial, a mechanism that applies when outpatient screening in court clinics is deemed insufficient.
Walsh Wants a Stronger Safety Net, Not Just Punishment
Rather than focusing solely on punishment, Walsh told CBS News he hopes his experience draws greater attention to both violent crime and the need for accessible mental health services. He called for more resources dedicated to mental health treatment, recovery programs, and transportation, saying a healthy, functioning city ecosystem can keep people from falling through the cracks. He also expressed sympathy for the man accused of attacking him, even as he said he plans to keep advocating for expanded mental health resources to prevent similar attacks.
Boston already runs a co-responder program, pairing police with clinicians from the Boston Emergency Services Team at Boston Medical Center to de-escalate and assess people in acute psychiatric distress, according to the Boston Police Department. In June, the city also published a request for proposals to launch a Community-Led Mental Health Crisis Response Pilot, aimed at building non-carceral, community-rooted emergency response options for residents in behavioral health distress, per Boston.gov. Even with those programs in place, Walsh's case shows how someone in visible psychiatric distress can still go unaddressed until a violent encounter forces intervention.
A Citywide Pattern of Rising Non-Fatal Violence
The Allston attack fits into a broader pattern Boston has grappled with in 2026. Data compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association and cited in Hoodline's coverage of a Roslindale stabbing showed that while homicides in the city dropped by more than 50% in the first half of 2026 compared to the year before, reported aggravated assaults rose by more than 7%, climbing from 1,155 to 1,240 incidents year-over-year.
Flores's formal competency findings from Bridgewater State Hospital, and whether he had prior contact with mental health or law enforcement agencies before October, remain unresolved questions ahead of his November 3 court date. For now, Walsh says he is grateful simply to be alive, and he hopes the attention on his case pushes the city toward filling the gaps that let someone in crisis reach a breaking point on a public street.
