Four months after a retired Marine saved her life as a gunman unleashed terror on Memorial Drive, a Cambridge public school teacher says it’s an honor to see the man awarded for his bravery.
Rachel Lemire Saveriano says she has become “very good friends” with Thomas Joseph Swenson since the man saved not only her life, but countless others, during the broad-daylight shooting that wreaked chaos on the busy roadway along the Charles River.
Life came full circle for Saveriano at the State House on Friday, when “TJ” received the Madeline “Amy” Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Sweeney Award, named for the Massachusetts native and American Airlines flight attendant who died on 9/11, is given out annually at a ceremony on the anniversary to those who “demonstrate extraordinary courage and put their own safety at risk to help save others in imminent danger.”
Saveriano said she learned of the award on the day that nominations were due in July. Still, she added that its significance immediately aligned with Swenson’s courage that May 11 afternoon, so she submitted a letter in his honor just in time.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who could have stopped me from doing it once I heard about it,” Saveriano told reporters after Swenson received the honor, “because I could think of no one more deserving than TJ for this award.”
Amy Sweeney was working as a flight attendant aboard Flight 11 during the Sept. 11 attack, having taken an extra shift for a co-worker. During the hijacking, the attendant relayed reports to the ground, helping investigators find the identities of the perpetrators.
“She was selfless, she was brave, she was calm,” Saveriano said of what she’s read about Sweeney. “She gave information that they needed while she knew her life was in extreme danger. The parallels to TJ’s story seemed quite extensive.”
Swenson did not speak to reporters after receiving the award.
“TJ is the kind of man,” Saveriano said, “if you try to give him a compliment, he finds a way to flip it around and give it to you or give it to someone else. TJ has a really hard time accepting compliments.”
“Thankfully, he is surrounded by people who just don’t let him get away with that, I would say,” Saveriano said, laughing in a State House hallway. “I hope in his heart of hearts that he knows that he deserves this.”
Saveriano remembers that May afternoon and the ensuing chaos vividly. Driving back to her office from an observation as a special education teacher, Saveriano said she was on Memorial Drive when she heard “really loud shots” that she initially thought weren’t gunfire.
“I work in the city, so you’re used to hearing loud noises,” Saveriano said. “And then I heard it again, and it felt different, but I still didn’t know what it was.”
Instantly, Saveriano saw cars pulling up and completing “quick and chaotic turns” on sidewalks, while people sprinted down the street.
“That’s when I realized something was really happening,” she said.
The woman tried to follow the other cars by attempting a U-turn, but she was boxed in, leaving her nowhere to go. Then, the shooter, later identified as Tyler Brown, a 47-year-old Boston man who has a lengthy criminal record spanning multiple states, approached her.
“I was stuck with not many options,” Saveriano said. “In some way, I kind of felt that that was it. I’m not sure if I processed that at the time, and then truly, out of nowhere, TJ appeared at my car door, and he looked at me, and he said, ‘Run.’”
“He seemed so calm,” she added, “and he seemed like he was there to save us.”
Brown allegedly used a BCI Defense Model FF-15 rifle that took multiple caliber bullets, .223 and 5.56, as he fired over 60 rounds and critically injured motorists who have since recovered from the shooting spree.
Swenson, on scene, responded rapidly, taking his 9mm Glock 43 from a safe in the back of his car and warning people nearby. Joined by State Police Trooper Landon Veney, the retired Marine shot the suspect in his extremities, helping end the crisis.
“Miraculously,” as Saveriano described it, no lives were lost during the chaos, and her vehicle was not shot at.
Two days after the incident, Saveriano met Swenson. The two quickly became close friends, as they text and call each other more days than not.
“TJ put himself in the path of danger,” Saveriano said. “TJ risked his life, so we could run. We wouldn’t have been able to run if it hadn’t been for TJ. When we were running, he was going towards the danger.”
“As tragic as this day was for so many people, this day could have been absolutely horrific,” the woman added, “exponentially horrific had it not been for TJ and the trooper.”
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