Harvard Professor Placed on Leave After Firing Pellet Near Synagogue

A visiting professor at Harvard Law School has been placed on administrative leave after his arrest in connection with an incident outside a Brookline synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur, officials said.

Carlos Portugal Gouvea, who also teaches at the University of São Paulo Law School, was charged with illegally discharging a pellet gun, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and vandalizing property, according to public court records.

Brookline police responded Wednesday evening to reports of shots fired outside Temple Beth Zion, a synagogue in Brookline, as Yom Kippur — the holiest day in the Jewish calendar — was beginning. More than a dozen officers were dispatched, according to Brookline.News, which first reported the incident.