Leominster man arrested for pointing BB gun at children, workers in apartment complex then pursuing worker outside

LEOMINSTER — On Monday, July 6, 2026, Leominster Police Officers Braden Carlson, Michael Dingman, and Nicholas Rice were dispatched to the Ivory Keys Apartments, located 140 Adams Street, after receiving reports that a man had a gun and pointed it at someone.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Brandon Carlson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.) 

When the officers arrived at the scene and began walking toward the apartment building, one of the reporting parties identified a group standing outside as the alleged victims.

“Officer Dingman stood outside with the victims while Officer Rice and I went inside to Apt. [# redacted] to speak with the male that reportedly had a gun,” Officer Carlson said.

Officer Carlson said that when he knocked on the door, a man said he would be right there and then opened the door.

“I had the male step outside, and pat frisked him for a firearm,” Officer Carlson said. “The male party was identified as Eugenio Rivera.”

According to police, Eugenio Rivera, 65, is a resident of 140 Adams Street in Leominster, MA.

Rivera told Officer Carlson that the firearm was inside his apartment and that he no longer had it in his possession. He explained that earlier in the day, he heard a knock at his door and looked through the peephole, where he saw a man standing outside.

“Eugenio stated when he opened the door, the male party said he was from the cable company and wanted to come inside to check his cable,” Officer Carlson said.

Eugenio said he told the man that he doesn’t have cable services and tried to shut his door, but the man tried to keep the door open.

“Eugenio stated the cut on his hand happened when he was trying to shut the door, but he is unsure how he obtained the cut,” Officer Carlson said. “Eugenio stated after the male left, he looked out his window and saw him walking around cars and took his out his BB gun and went outside to tell him to leave. Eugenio stated he never removed the BB gun from the holster and never pointed it at anymore.”

Officer Carlson said Rivera stated that the BB gun was inside his apartment and that he was willing to show the officer where it was.

“The BB gun was in the top drawer of a dresser in Eugeno’s room. When I saw the BB gun, it was inside a black holster and appeared to contain no pellets or CO2,” Officer Carlson said.

Officer Carlson added that the BB gun was all black and didn’t have an orange tip, so it appeared to be a real firearm.

“The firearm was collected as evidence and secured in the front seat of Cruiser 14 with the doors locked,” Officer Carlson said. Adding, “I then spoke with Mackley Senat regarding what had happened. Mackley stated he is from Nordic Electric and was at the apartment complex to check people’s bills and see if they were paying the correct amount for electric services. Mackley stated he was in the hallway talking to the three children in the hallway.”

Senat told Officer Carlson that he did not knock on Rivera’s apartment door. According to Senat, Rivera opened the door on his own accord and said, “I got something for you,” before closing it. Senat stated that Rivera then opened the door again and pointed a black gun at him.”

Senat stated that he then went outside to the parking lot and ducked beside a vehicle. According to Senat, Rivera followed him outside, but initially remained near the building’s exterior door.

“Mackley stated Eugenio was standing at the outside door still holding the gun,” Officer Carlson said. “Mackley stated once Eugenio saw him in the parking lot, he began to walk towards him and was ducking in between cars with the gun pointed out.”

Senat stated that he was near the dumpster area when Rivera approached him, at which point people inside the apartment building started to open their windows and look around.

Officer Carlson said he then spoke with a woman who said she was working with Senat that day and also encountered Rivera with a firearm.

“The female Tatina Lopes that was working with Mackley at the time stated she went to the first floor and began to knock on doors,” Officer Carlson said.

Officer Carlson said Lopes reported seeing Rivera walking through the hallway with his head lowered while holding a holster and a gun. Lopes stated that she greeted Rivera by saying “Hi” and attempted to explain why she was inside the apartment complex. According to Lopes, Rivera then removed the gun from the holster and pointed it at her.

Lopes said Rivera then told her to get out of the building, pulled back the slide of the firearm, and tried to get her to leave through the front door with him.

“Tatina stated she was weak in the knees and was scared that Eugenio was going to shoot her,” Officer Carlson said.

Lopes stated she was then able to run away from Rivera and escape.

“The children that were in the hallway were waiting outside the apartment building with their parents,” Officer Carlson said.

Officer Carlson said he spoke with one of the children (identified in this article as “JV1”) who was outside with his mother.

“[JV1] was scared but was able to recount what had occurred,” Officer Carlson said.

Officer Carlson said that JV1 told him that he was playing in the hallway on the first floor with his sister and a friend when the “electric guy,” (i.e. Senat) was knocking on apartment doors.

“[JV1] stated that Mackley knocked on the apartment door of the old man (Eugenio), but no one answered the door,” Officer Carlson said. “[JV1] stated Mackley knocked again and then walked away.”

According to Officer Carlson, JV1 stated the door then opened and Rivera said, “Don’t mess with this place,” and pointed a gun in Senat’s face.

“[JV1] stated Eugenio then asked if they were with Mackley,” Officer Carlson said. “[JV1] stated Eugenio then pulled the slide of the gun back and kept pointing it at him when he was talking with him.”

JV1 said he was scared and thought Rivera was going to shoot him, according to Officer Carlson.

“[JV1’s sister] confirmed what her brother said and she also was scared that Eugenio was going to shoot her,” Officer Carlson said.

Officer Carlson said he then spoke with JV1’s friend who was allegedly playing in the hallway with him and his sister.

“When speaking with [JV1’s friend], she stated she believed Eugenio was on the phone when he opened the door,” Officer Carlson said. “[JV1’s friend] stated Eugenio then said, ‘I’ve got something for you.’ [JV1’s friend] stated when Eugenio spoke with her, he asked if she was with the other guy and said no, Eugenio told her that she is good to come inside the hallway. [JV1’s friend] stated Eugenio had the gun and cocked the gun. [JV1’s friend] stated she did cry when this happened and was scared.”

Officer Carlson said he also spoke with JV1’s friend’s mother.

“[JV1’s friend’s mother] stated she got a phone call that a gun was being pointed at the kids,” Officer Carlson said. “[She] stated she came down to the first floor and saw Eugenio holding a firearm on the stairway. [JV1’s friend’s mother] stated she told Eugenio that the cops were on the way and he put the gun back into the holster before going back inside his apartment.”

At this time, Rivera was placed under arrest for assault with a dangerous weapon.

“Once I returned to the station, I was able to inspect the BB gun (P-25 Blowback) and observed the magazine that was insert into it,” Officer Carlson said. “The magazine had 16 pellets loaded into it. When I pulled the slide back, I observed no live pellets to be in the firing chamber.”

Officer Carlson said the compartment beneath the handle that holds the CO2 cartridge could not be opened, preventing him from determining whether it contained a cartridge. The BB gun, magazine with ammo, and holster were then placed into the same evidence box and put into a temporary storage locker at the Leominster Police Station, according to Officer Carlson.

“The apartment complex worker was able to arrive on scene and had access to the security cameras,” Officer Carlson added. “The footage shows Mackley in the hallway with the children sitting on the ground. The camera then shows Eugenio opening his door and Mackley walking away from the door and down the hallway. When Mackley was walking, Eugenio was walking directly behind him. Mackley’s body is blocking the camera view, but when he walks towards the stairs, I observed Eugenio holding the gun in his hand.”

Officer Carlson said footage from camera in the parking lot shows Senat walking away as Rivera comes outside while still holding the gun.

“Eugenio then walks back inside and finds the three children in the stairway but due to the door blocking the camera view, I am unable to see if Eugenio has the gun pointed at them,” Officer Carlson said. “The next view I was able to see was Tatina walking in the hallway and contacting Eugenio. Tatina is standing in the hallway, but the view of Eugenio is cut off and not able to be captured on the camera.”

Rivera was arraigned in Leominster District Court on July 7, 2026. Following his arraignment, Rivera was held pending a dangerousness hearing. Rivera’s next court date was a dangerousness hearing scheduled for July 10, 2026.

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Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place at the beginning of the month, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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