Officer Tim Matson described in federal court Wednesday how he has tended a weed growing on his porch in the years since his body was shattered by bullet wounds in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, saying the hardy plant helped to restore his will to live.
Matson was shot in his head and body on Oct. 27, 2018, when he and other police officers charged into Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue to halt the massacre that left 11 worshippers dead. The SWAT police officer was hospitalized for months, endured off-the-charts pain and underwent 25 surgeries. He had to relearn how to walk on his wounded leg.
