Veteran Charged With VFW Assault on Wedding Day

OUTSIDE BOSTON, MA -- An Iraq War veteran was arrested after his wedding reception Saturday, accused of assaulting seniors at a local .

Police have charged Philip Brooks, 32, of Gloucester and formerly of North Andover, with two counts of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and destruction of property.

At just before 9 p.m. Saturday, North Andover Police received a call from the VFW on Park Street in North Andover reporting that the groom from a wedding reception in the banquet hall upstairs had gone to the bar downstairs and assaulted multiple people there, including an elderly man and the man's wife.

"According to witnesses, he forcefully pushed the man's head into a solid oak bar table," North Andover Police Lt. Charles Gray said. Witnesses also reportedly said that he had been yelling about older veterans not respecting Iraq War veterans.

Brooks, who had been married a few hours before, allegedly left with his new bride. Police issued an alert to nearby police departments.

The victims were reportedly treated by EMTs on the scene and did not suffer major injuries.

Andover police located Brooks at Comfort Suites in Andover, and as they approached his room, Brooks reportedly fled.

Andover and North Andover police, along with a K-9 unit, tracked Brooks down in a wooded area near I-93 and arrested him.

Brooks, a former National Guard medic who served two tours in Iraq, was arraigned in Lawrence District Court Monday morning and pleaded not guilty.

UPDATE: Brooks is scheduled to be released Wednesday on $2,000 bail and will be placed on house arrest with a GPS monitoring bracelet. Conditions of his bail include staying drug and alcohol free, submitting to random drug testing and undergoing psychological evaluation.