David Henneberry is the poster child for “If you see something, say something”. His sharp eye about his boat enabled the capture of the Boston bomber.
Enter the Internet.
Via Bloomberg:
An online campaign to buy David Henneberry a new boat has almost tripled its funds over the past two days as people open their wallets to help those involved in the Boston Marathon bombings.
Police opened fire on a powerboat owned by Henneberry, a 65-year-old Watertown, Massachusetts, resident, after he called in the tip that 19-year-old bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was hiding in it. Henneberry had noticed blood on the normally pristine vessel trailered in his back yard. After officers captured the suspect, the boat was left riddled with bullet holes.
Investigators view the boat where Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found in a backyard on Franklin Street in Boston. Photographer: David L Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
A campaign on the website Crowdtilt, a platform for so- called crowdfunding, has raised about $7,700 so far, compared with $2,800 on April 21. The drive, titled “Let’s Fix David Henneberry’s Boat (That Got Ruined in the Boston Bomber’s Standoff)!” has “tilted,” meaning all proceeds will go to Henneberry. Crowdtilt’s staff has stepped in to guarantee delivery of the funds. The goal is $50,000.
The story of Henneberry’s punctured boat resonated with Jeffrey Griffeth, 36, from Apex, North Carolina. It inspired him to promote the Crowdtilt campaign by starting a Facebook group, which now has about 1,000 members.
“I enjoy fishing and being out on the water myself, and for a guy to lose his boat, as minor as that is compared to people losing their limbs and lives, I just thought to help a guy out who potentially saved many more lives,” Griffeth said.