Boston Marathon Bombing: Who are Joseph Reynolds, and John MacLellan, first officer and sergeant to encounter Tamerlan Tsarnaev?
Rachel Acosta
Updated on December 30, 2025
Officer Joseph Reynolds and Sergeant John MacLellan have been the primary to encounter Tamerlan Tsarnaev after the Boston Marathon bombing.
The officers engaged in a shootout with the suspects, and were instrumental in preventing further casualties.
Their bravery and quick thinking helped cause the eventual seize of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the cease of the manhunt.
Two Watertown law enforcement officials, Joseph Reynolds and John MacLellan, were the primary to come across Tamerlan Tsarnaev all through the Boston Marathon Bombing manhunt.
On April 18, 2013, the Boston Marathon Bombing shook the city, leaving 3 useless and over 260 injured. The manhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers commenced, and it become officials Joseph Reynolds and John MacLellan who were the first to come across Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a harrowing gunfight in Watertown.
Also read night of April 18, 2013, after killing a police officer on the MIT campus, the Tsarnaev brothers hijacked a car and ended up in the Boston suburb of Watertown. That’s in which they encountered the first responders, together with Officer Joseph Reynolds and Sergeant John MacLellan.
Who are Officer Joseph Reynolds and Sergeant John MacLellan? As they approached the stolen Mercedes, Tamerlan Tsarnaev emerged from the car and started firing at the officials, hitting Reynolds’ windshield and showering MacLellan with glass. The officials used their patrol vehicle for canopy and attempted to engage the suspects, however the Tsarnaev brothers persevered to fireplace on them and throw explosives.
Here are today’s Hometown Heroes, Sergeant John MacLellan and Sergeant Jeff Pugliese of Watertown PD #Fox25 #ZipTrips
— Boston 25 News (@boston25) May 23, 2014
Despite being pinned down via gunfire, MacLellan remained unharmed and persevered to interact both suspects. When Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese arrived on the scene and tackled Tamerlan Tsarnaev to the ground, MacLellan shouted at him to lower back away, fearing that the suspect had a further explosive tool.
Eventually, with the help of Reynolds and Pugliese, the officials were able to relaxed Tamerlan Tsarnaev, however his brother Dzhokhar escaped inside the stolen Mercedes, going for walks over Tamerlan inside the process.
The bravery of Reynolds and MacLellan, along with the other officials who responded to the scene, helped to save you similarly damage to the residents of Watertown and brought an cease to the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers.
Now, nearly ten years after the assault, a new Netflix documentary collection, American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing, is revisiting the occasions of that day and the look for the Tsarnaev brothers. The documentary includes interviews with survivors, law enforcement officials, and others worried in the investigation.