Cop seriously wounded in shoot-out with Boston bombers was hit by FRIENDLY FIRE, claim witnesses

By James Nye

Published: 10:04 EDT, 7 May 2013 | Updated: 13:38 EDT, 7 May 2013

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) police officer Richard Donohue Jr. Donahue was injured in a shootout late on April 18, 2013 with Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and DzhokharTsarnaev

Eyewitness accounts from the chaotic Watertown firefight between law enforcement and the suspected Boston bombers claim that transit police officer Richard Donohue was almost killed in a hail of gunfire unleashed by his colleagues.

The MBTA officer was hit in his upper thigh as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, made his getaway in a stolen black Mercedes SUV and residents of the quiet town have revealed that Donohue appeared to be the victim of 'friendly fire'.

Witnesses have suggested that Donohue was struck as officers chased after and fired upon the fleeing SUV driven by the teenage bombing suspect as it motored in between two groups of officers creating a cross-fire.

'A black SUV appeared, and rapid gun fire was focused on the vehicle,' wrote Watertown resident Jane Dyson in a statement provided to the Boston Globe.

'It appeared to me that an individual at the corner [of the street] fell to the ground and had probably been hit in the gunfire.'

'I later learned that the individual who had been shot was Officer Richard Donohue.'

The investigation has revealed that neither suspect was armed and firing when Donohue fell, suggesting that he was indeed hit by one of his fellow officers gunfire at the culmination of the ten minute exchange.

Two witnesses support Dyson’s account that Donohue appeared to be wounded in the final volley of shots fired at Dzhokhar.

Dyson said she watched the SUV speed away, 'with what appeared to be several police officers running close behind, firing weapons, trying desperately to stop the vehicle.'

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Police officer Richard Donohue Jr. Is shown with his wife Kim, in this handout photo released by MBTA in Boston May 1, 2013

Warzone: Watertown Shooting Andrew Kitzenberg tweeted photos of the 'firefight' between two terror suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and police, which he witnessed from his window in Watertown

Officer Donohue, 33, was seriously wounded and almost bled to death after being struck during the early morning gun fight that erupted on the streets of Watertown on April 19th.

Up to 300 rounds of gunfire were exchanged between 26-year-old Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and a dozen police officers from four departments.

The two brothers also threw pipe bombs and detonated a pressure cooker device similar to those which killed three people and injured over 250 people when they detonated during the marathon of April 15th.

The fire fight was so intense that police sources have described it as a 'wartime situation'.

Three neighbors revealed to the Boston Globe how they watched the vicious fire-fight between police and the Boston suspects reach its climax.

Tamerlan charged at police, throwing his handgun at the officer, who then subdued him and handcuffed him.

Terror: Police descend on School and Walnut streets in search of suspects April 19, 2013 in Watertown, Massachusetts

A Boston police officer allows police vehicles out of a closed area as a search for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on April 19, 2013 in Watertown, Massachusetts

Meanwhile, Dzohkhar had got behind the wheel of the stolen SUV and was in such a panic to leave that he ran over his handcuffed brother, contributing to his death.

Donahue, married to wife Kim, was one of the dozen officers who engaged with the Tsarnaev brothers and the bullet which hit him severed his femoral vein and artery, causing rapid blood loss, doctors said. 'He was deceased,' according to one emergency medical provider who treated him.

'CPR was started in the field, and he required a prolonged resuscitation that started at the scene and at our emergency room,' Dr. David Miller, a critical care doctor at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, said during a briefing at the hospital.

Miller later explained that Donahue's heart had stopped for more than 45 minutes before doctors were able to restore his pulse.

Donohue arrived at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge with almost no blood left and no pulse. However, doctors have said he will probably make a full recovery. 

Residents described hearing: 'Gunshot, , gunshot, gunshot, gunshot' in a stand off between police and the Tsarnaev brothers

In a statement released last week praising emergency services, Donohue said the bullet 'will remain in my leg as it is not obstructing anything or causing any pain.'

However, despite this, none of the witnesses faulted the police.

'I don’t second-guess the actions the police took to stop these terrorists,' Dyson said in an interview with the Boston Globe.

'The police did a great job.'

A state police spokesman said that the bravey of all the officers involved in the shootout was more important than any claims of 'friendly fire.'

'Considering the chaos on those dark streets, where a pair of homicidal terrorists were firing shots and throwing bombs at police, the fact that friendly-fire incidents may have ­occurred detracts nothing, not one bit , from the valor and heroism of the officers and troopers who caught up to them that night,' said David Procopio.

Officer Donohue was shot as officers from as many six agencies including ATF and the FBI scoured the streets of Watertown in the middle of the night to battle Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

'It’s arguably a wartime situation,' said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police ­Executive Research Forum.

Andrew Kitzenburg posted photos of a bullet hole in his apartment which penetrated the wall and his roommate's chair as police and terror suspects exchanged gunfire

'Police agencies are not generally prepared for the kind of wartime situation that these officers encountered.'

Indeed, during the frantic gun battle, it appears that both suspects were wounded, but shots were sprayed across the intersection of Dexter Avenue and Laurel Street that hit a dozen homes.

One neighbor, Rob Mullen, witnessed the gun battle unfold from the second-floor window of his home on Laurel Street.

He described how Dzhokhar waved the SUV through the officers who fired upon it as it drove off - after which Donohue was revealed to be injured.

'Every cop out there just ­unloaded everything he had on the SUV,' said Mullen.

After the SUV had made its getaway, another neighbor, Curtis Hazlett, described the fight to save Donohue's life.

'After the gunfire died down, that’s when I started to hear calls for assistance for the officer,' said Hazlett.

Citizens of Watertown initially believed bangs to be fireworks but realised they were in fact gunshots and explosions

Dyson, in her statement to the Boston Globe said that she realized it was officer Donohue she had seen injured when she watched the news.

Donohue's shooting is one of three possible incidents of 'friendly fire' that occurred during the frantic early morning hunt for the two suspected Boston bombing suspects.

In another incident, another Transit police officer was slightly wounded when a bullet struck his buttocks during the gunfight.

And in a third potential friendly-fire incident, a state trooper fired on an unmarked Boston police SUV which rushing to the scene at Watertown.

The trooper thought he was firing on the stolen SUV of the suspects - no one was hurt when the trooper fired on the vehicle, blowing out the back window.