Hero Fund President Eric Zahren, left, along with Weymouth (Massachusetts) Mayor Robert Hedlund, presented the Carnegie Medal to Jean-Paul LaPierre, right, at a Nov. 3, 2021, ceremony held at Weymouth Town Hall. LaPierre subdued a gunman who was robbing passengers on a crowded Chicago train on Oct. 13, 2019. After being told about the gunman from a fellow passenger, LaPierre followed him onto another train car, pinned him against a set of closed doors, and pried the gun away from him. LaPierre was moved to tears during the ceremony and said he was “beyond honored” to receive the Medal. “For a guy like me — I was a drug addict living under a bridge for part of my 20s before I got my life back together — so for a guy like me, that’s huge. Recognition confirms for me that I made the right decisions, and I am trying to live a good life… that I’m on the right path,” LaPierre said.
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