The transit officer who was shot during the deadly manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects is speaking out for the first time.
Richard H. Donohue, 33, thanked everyone who helped save his life two weeks ago.
“I cannot begin to properly thank everyone involved in my recovery, as many fearless individuals stepped up and acted heroically that night,” the Woburn, Mass., resident said in a statement. “In the midst of a firefight, [authorities] dropped to the ground and assisted me when I was shot.”
The three-year veteran of the Massachusetts Bay Transit authority, added “I am told that when I arrived at the hospital, I had almost no blood or pulse,” but miraculously doctors were able to help him.
Donohue, who was listed in critical condition for days, said he can now move with the help of a walker and optimistic he’ll “recover back to 100%.” Doctors have told him that recovery will be long and the bullet will be left in his leg since there’s no pain.
Donohue even managed to crack a joke about his injury. “My wife has informed me that the bullet will ultimately cause her the most pain, as I will be using it to get out of things like mowing the lawn, doing laundry or painting the deck,” he said.
Before Donohue was injured in the pursuit for Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, MIT Officer Sean Collier was shot and killed. Collier and Donohue graduated from the same Municipal Police Officers’ Training Academy class.
“Sean was one of my good friends out of the Academy and I arrived on scene soon after Sean’s attack,” Donohue recounted. “There is not a single day we are not thinking or speaking of Sean. And we are certain Sean was watching over me and assisted in saving my life. He could not save himself that night, but Sean could save me.”
Collier, 26, was laid to rest last week. A memorial service was held at MIT and was attended by thousands, including Vice President Joe Biden, and thousands of students, faculty and law enforcement officials .
Bombing suspect Tamerlan, 26, died in the shootout with police in Watertown, Mass. His brother, Dzhokhar, 19, has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction.