Boston bomber hero cop has Galway roots
The cop who first came across the Boston Marathon bombers – leading to a dramatic shootout and siege – has Galway parents.
Officer Joe Reynolds of Watertown Police Department was the first policeman to spot the Tsarnaev brothers on the night of April 13, 2013.
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta reported this week that Joe’s mother Annie is from Bohermore (her parents are from Béal a’ Daingean) and his father Vincent is from east Galway.
Joe was one of the first of around 1,000 officers to respond to the scene at Watertown, and tried to apprehend the Tsarnaevs.
He also helped a fellow officer who was shot and seriously wounded.
All units had been alerted to a carjacking in the area, and Reynolds was the first to spot the car and follow it.
It subsequently stopped and Tamerlan Tsarnaev came out of the vehicle and opened fire on him. Other police officers arrived on the scene, and Tamerlan was seriously injured in the ensuing events and subsequently died.
His brother Dzhokhar escaped and was captured the following day.
Officer Reynolds was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor and last month was awarded a Medal of Valor, which is the highest national award for courage in the US.
Dzokhar went on trial this week on 30 charges in connection with the blasts – which killed three and injured 260 – and with killing a police officer. Seventeen of the charges carry the death penalty.