Plane Stolen After Ex-Wife Killed : Gunman Strafes Boston for 3 Hours

A gunman killed his former wife and then commandeered a small plane and swooped over Boston for three hours, strafing Logan International Airport and firing at baseball fans leaving Fenway Park, authorities said today.

Authorities said Alfred Hunter, 42, of Ipswich had only five minutes of fuel left when he finally landed at Logan airport at 1:16 a.m.

The 42-year-old licensed pilot took to the skies after killing his former wife, Elvira, in front of their 5-year-old son Tuesday night, police said.

The couple, divorced two years ago, appeared in court Tuesday and Hunter had been sentenced to two years of probation for assaulting his former wife, who was believed to be in her mid-30s.

During the aerial shooting spree with an AK-47 assault rifle, Hunter buzzed the control tower at Logan four times.

Controllers Flee

“The fourth time . . . the controllers were directed to literally vacate the tower and relocate to the radar room until further notice,” said Michael Ciccarelli, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

No injuries were reported from the shots fired from the plane.

Hunter’s flight took him over the Kenmore Square neighborhood, where the Boston Red Sox had just finished a game. Police found two shell casings nearby. He also flew under a bridge over Boston Harbor and buzzed several other neighborhoods and the post office where he worked, authorities said.

“He kept dive-bombing it there,” said Richard Serino, a deputy superintendent of Boston Emergency Medical Services. “The people were saying it looked like he was going to crash, then he pulled up and did a couple of turns.”

At one point, 10 rounds were fired at a Continental Airlines jet that was on the ground at Logan but missed the plane and a mechanic working underneath, FAA Agent Stacy Grace said. Shots ricocheted off the runway and a building, she said.

Hunter was captured without incident when he landed at the airport shortly after 1 a.m. No gun was found in the plane but Hunter may have tossed it out the window. Two casings and two live rounds were in the aircraft.