Madeline “Amy” Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery (2015)
Albeiro Gomez
This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in which at least 206 people with ties to Massachusetts perished. The first flights to be hijacked took off from Boston Logan International Airport. Madeline “Amy” Sweeney, a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, displayed extraordinary cool under extreme pressure during the hijacking. The Massachusetts 9/11 Fund Blog is profiling the Sweeney Award recipients for the past quarter century every week leading up to the naming of the 2026 Honoree(s) at the 25th Anniversary Commemoration on September 11th.
Livery driver helps Massachusetts State Troopers to stop kidnapper
On the afternoon of July 20, 2014, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Joseph Hilton was told to be on the lookout for a white Lincoln Town Car with an armed subject wanted for a home invasion and kidnapping of a woman and her 11-month-old baby. The suspect had hired a livery driver, Albeiro Gomez, to take him and his captives to Springfield.
Trooper Hilton spotted the vehicle traveling westbound on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Ludlow and broadcast the information over police radio. Additional troopers then converged on the Lincoln and the vehicle pulled over.
Trooper Hilton ordered the suspect to exit the vehicle. Gomez, who was not aware of the kidnapping, turned and saw the suspect holding a handgun. Without regard for his own safety, Gomez lunged over the seat and grabbed for the gun.
State Troopers then converged on the suspect at which time the kidnap victim fled the vehicle with her baby in her arms. Trooper Hilton twisted the gun out of the suspect’s hands and pulled him from the vehicle.
For his actions, Gomez received the 2015 Madeline “Amy” Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery. In a press release announcing the honor, Gov. Charles D. Baker Jr. said, “Albeiro Gomez acted quickly and without regard for his own safety to save the life of a mother and her baby who were in danger. Fourteen years after one of the darkest days in the nation’s history, it is inspiring to see that Madeline Sweeney’s spirit and legacy live on in the actions of Albeiro and countless other heroes around the Commonwealth and our country.”
Speaking through an interpreter at the ceremony, Gomez expressed modesty in accepting the award.
"I just want to emphasize that all I did was act as a good citizen should have acted in order to assist those who needed help in that moment," Gomez said. "Thanks to my proactive action and the great and rapid action of the police, we were able to prevent what could have been a very violent act."
Next week: New Bedford teacher loses life protecting others against knife-wielding man