Officer John Moynihan, the police officer who was hailed as a hero for his role in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, is now fighting for his life.
Authorities said Moynihan was shot in the face during a traffic stop early Friday evening and is now in an induced coma fighting for his life.
“The officer her is in tough shape, but we’re all pulling for him, and hopefully he’ll pull through. His family’s with him, the clergy has been here and… let’s pray for him,” said police Commissioner William Evans.
Evans said Moynihan was among the police officers who stopped the suspect’s car Friday evening when the suspect suddenly opened fire on officers.
Moynihan was hit below his right eye, Evans said. A lady bystander was reportedly also hit in the arm.
Other officers returned fire, killing the suspect at the scene. No other officer was hurt in the incident but three policemen were brought to the hospital for stress-related problems.
The name of the suspect was not immediately disclosed.
Evans, 34, was hailed as hero when he helped transit police Officer Richard Donohue, who was shot in the leg and nearly bled to death in an operation to apprehend Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev.
[Featured photo credit: “Boston Marathon explosions (8652971845)” by Aaron “tango” Tang from cambridge, ma, usa – DSC03188Uploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Marathon_explosions_(8652971845).jpg#/media/File:Boston_Marathon_explosions_(8652971845).jpg]