Exercising the Right
Two Armed Civilians Stop Active Shooter
ABC News reported on May 25 about a shooting that the NRA would later claim was evidence that “the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Investigators say the incident unfolded when suspect Alexander C. Tilghman approached an Oklahoma City restaurant and opened fire. Twenty-eight-year-old Tilghman was reportedly wearing protective glasses and hearing protection that is typically worn at shooting ranges before he began shooting into Louie’s Grill & Bar, hitting three patrons inside the restaurant. The active-shooter situation quickly came to an end when not one, but two armed civilians sprang into action.
ABC News reported that 35-year-old Juan Carlos Nazario and 39-year-old Bryan Whittle both witnessed the shooting and ran to their vehicles to retrieve their own firearms. The two men opened fire on the armed suspect, fatally wounding him. Oklahoma City Police Captain Bo Matthews heaped praise on the two men for their brave actions. The three people who were shot by Tilghman received medical treatment for their injuries and are all expected to survive. Matthews told ABC that the two men were “people that stopped a very tragic situation from going any further.” While Matthews declined to refer to them as “heroes,” he agreed that it was correct for the media to describe them that way. “You can say they’re heroes, which is a very good thing to say,” Matthews said during the news conference. Matthews said the two civilians did not know each other and that they appeared to have acted in accordance with the law, and he doubted that charges would be filed against them.
The investigation is still ongoing, but police believe it was a random event. Matthews could not stop stressing how awful it could have been had those two men not stepped up and put their own lives on the line to defend the lives of others. “It could have been really tragic. Again, we’re really blessed that only three people were shot and didn’t lose their lives,” Matthews told reporters.
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