Boston Marathon stolen valor investigation at St. Louis Fire Department
Watch report from WFXT-TV in Boston
Watch report from KMOV-TV in St. Louis
A social media post meant to honor a St. Louis first responder has gone viral, and now the Saint Louis Fire Department is investigating claims against the E.M.T featured in the post.
Paramedic, Shawn Daniel told fellow first responders he was at the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, where he says he ran to the scene to help.
Recently, Daniel was honored at a St. Louis Blues game.
The fire department posted an image of that ceremony on the department’s Facebook page. In the Facebook post, the fire department says Daniel was “amongst the many emergency responders who ran towards the blast site to assist the injured” just after the bombing.
At the time, Daniel was working for a private ambulance company. But a number of people started sharing the post and are questioning that claim.
Eric Rasmussen & Erin Smith, WFXT-TV:
Matthew Miner, Daniel’s direct supervisor at the time, says Daniel initially came to New Hampshire as part of a “strike team” to make up for staffing shortages in the area, in the weeks before the bombings.
Miner said his team didn’t send any ambulances or staff to the scene of the Boston Marathon bombing.
“None of our trucks were actually down there for that,” said Miner.
FOX25 Investigates obtained a work schedule for Daniel and his coworkers during the week of the Boston Marathon bombing. On the day of the marathon, Daniel was assigned to a wheelchair van in Somersworth, New Hampshire — more than 70 miles away from the Copley Square finish line.
