Decorated Boston Cop Upgraded to Stable Condition After 'Unprovoked' Shooting
Officer John Moynihan was shot after he and five officers pulled over a driver.
— -- A police officer decorated for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing who was shot in a motor vehicle stop has been upgraded to stable and improving condition, police said today.
Officer John Moynihan underwent surgery to have a bullet removed from his neck, the Boston Police Department reported.
On Saturday, Moynihan had been in a medically induced coma, but he is now listed in stable and improving condition, police said.
He is "expected to be moved out of the Intensive Care Unit in the coming days," the police added.
When Moynihan and five other officers pulled over a driver in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Friday night, the driver began firing at them, police said.
Moynihan, 34, was shot under his eye and the bullet became lodged behind his ear, according to Boston Police Commissioner William Evans.
Evans called the shooting "unprovoked." The officers hadn't drawn their guns when the driver began shooting, said Evans. As the officers chased after him, the driver continued to fire, emptying his revolver as he ran.
The officers later shot the driver, who died on scene, police said. Evans identified him as Angelo West, 41, adding that he had a violent criminal past.
Moynihan, a six-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, was one of seven officers who came to the aid of MBTA Officer Richard "Dic" Donohue during the Watertown, Massachusetts, shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers in 2013 shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing. He was honored at the "Top Cops" ceremony at the White House in 2014.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.