Man allegedly breaks into Boston City Hall

A Tennessee man is facing charges after allegedly breaking into Boston’s City Hall early Thursday and ransacking offices inside the building before authorities found him in a nearby police wagon, an official said.

Police responded to City Hall at about 1:15 a.m. on Thursday for a report of someone trespassing, Boston Police Sergeant Detective John Boyle said. When they arrived, officers were told there was a person, later identified as Anthony Collins, 22, inside the building. Collins was allegedly seen on security cameras walking through the building holding something in his hand while vandalizing property, Boyle said.

Authorities saw damage to doors around the building as well as damage to a customer service center, where the Collins allegedly tried to pry open a cash register, said Boyle. It was unclear if the register had any cash in it at the time of the incident.

Collins allegedly ransacked multiple offices in the building, throwing furniture and computers around, said Boyle. Collins did not make it to the mayor’s office on the fifth floor; Boyle said the destruction was limited to the second and third floors of the building.

Messages left with Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office were not immediately returned Thursday.

While officers were searching the area, authorities noticed the rear door of an unattended police wagon parked near the A-1 police station, which is located a short walk from City Hall.

When officers went to the wagon to investigate, they discovered Collins in the vehicle, said Boyle. He matched the description of the man who had been seen on the video surveillance inside City Hall.

After further investigation, Collins was arrested and charged with destruction of personal property, trespassing, breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and breaking and entering into a motor vehicle, said Boyle.

The investigation is still active.

It was not immediately clear if Collins had been arraigned on Thursday. A message left with the Suffolk district attorney’s office was not immediately returned.