John Moynihan, the Boston police officer who was shot in the face at point-blank range last week when a traffic stop turned violent, is recovering after surgeons successfully removed a bullet from his neck over the weekend.
Moynihan, 34, and his unit were following up on a call of gunshots fired in the Roxbury area when they came upon a vehicle driven by Angelo West, 41.
The Boston Globe reported that surveillance video showed officers approaching the vehicle without their guns drawn when West started firing on Moynihan unprovoked.
West was killed in an ensuing shootout with Boston police after Moynihan was shot in the right cheek. He was listed in stable condition in Boston Medical Center's intensive care unit as of Sunday, according to the newspaper.
"God bless, I think he's going to make a full recovery. It's remarkable," Police Commissioner William B. Evans said to an audience at the University of Massachusetts Boston during an interfaith Passover seder Sunday.
WBZ-TV reported that at least eight billboards around Boston displayed messages of support for Moynihan as the officer went through surgery on Sunday.
Cardinal Sean O'Malley told the station that Moynihan's family was holding up fine after his surgery.
"They're doing pretty well and the fact that he's come through the surgery well was a great source of consolation to them all," he said. "We urge everyone in the community to keep John in their prayers."
Some members of the Boston civil rights group Black Lives Matter met Sunday, charging that they believed Friday's stop was the result of racial profiling, the Boston Globe noted. St. Patrick's Catholic Church, made up mostly of African-American parishioners, though, offered their own special prayers for the police.
"Some of the people got up and prayed for the police officers who protect our neighborhood," Rev. Walter Waldron told the Globe. "That's a wonderful sign of strength."
West reportedly had a long criminal history with 20 adult appearances in court and had fired on police during a 2001 incident where officers were nearly hit by gunfire, news outlets reported. He was released off probation in August for his third conviction for illegal possession of a firearm.
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