Armed Bystander Stops Gun-Wielding Madman Firing into Crowds of Kids

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Armed Bystander Stops Gun-Wielding Madman Firing into Crowds of Kids

An armed bystander stopped what could have been a mass casualty event on Saturday (Photo: WKMG Youtube)

UPDATE (8/12/18): Police have yet to release the names of either the suspect or the bystander, but officials have said the bystander won’t be charged due to the state’s “stand your ground” law. The suspect is still alive and recovering in an area hospital. The suspect’s father sat down for an interview with local station WFTV. He apologized for his son’s actions but also said he wished the bystander had kept his gun holstered: “He could have taken the description of my son, of the car and the license plate and said, ‘Here,’ to law enforcement, so they can do the job they’re paid to do,” he said.

The first inaugural “Peace in the City” back-to-school event in Titusville, Fl., would have ended in tragic irony if not for a concealed carrier who stepped in to stop the crazed man before anyone was injured.

“We are extremely grateful that nobody else was injured in this incident,” said Deputy Chief Todd Hutchinson. “This suspect opened fire at a crowded public park, this could have been so much worse.”

Police say the suspect left the rally after being involved in a fistfight and returned minutes later with a handgun. He began firing into the crowd of children and families who had gathered at Isaac Campbell Park to stand up against violence and celebrate the beginning of the school year.

“(The suspect) was confronted by a concerned citizen who saw him running away with the firearm and confronted him and (the suspect) pointed the firearm at him so that concerned citizen took action into his own hands and shot the perpetrator,” Titusville Police Sgt. Bill Amos told a local CBS affiliate. “It’s a miracle. That’s all you can say.”

“He’s a hero,” Amos continued. “This park was filled with families and children and, at that time, it was an active shooter situation for him and he was trained enough to deal with it and he did.”

Video taken by the event’s DJ, Dwight Harvey, shows two bounce houses and hundreds of people, including dozens of young children, enjoying a hot summer evening under a pavilion. Suddenly, twelve shots ring out and the attendees begin running from the scene.

“I was like, who lit firecrackers? I turned around and just said, ‘Oh no, he’s got a gun, he’s got a gun,’” Harvey told Florida Today. “I thought to myself, ‘did this just happen?’ People were taking cover, everybody was scattered.”

Harvey said he was thankful that a private citizen was in the right place at the right time to quickly end what could have been an even worse situation.

Police haven’t named the suspect or the individual who stepped in. It’s also unclear from the video which shots were fired by the suspect and which were fired by the bystander.

The suspect was airlifted to the hospital with critical injuries and was still alive as of Saturday evening. Police say his gun was recovered from the scene.

After consulting with the State Attorney’s office, police say no charges are expected against the bystander as his actions were within the law based on the preliminary investigation. Police say the individual remained on the scene and has been cooperative with the investigation.

“Folks gonna come out here and shoot around kids… it’s just hard for me to understand,” Harvey told WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando.

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  • bjg August 10, 2018, 5:05 pm

    Great work buy a legal gun owner, Thank God He (the good guy) was Black or the liberal networks would have reported. White racist kills innocent Black Man

  • Martin Messersmith August 10, 2018, 2:59 pm

    I know there is a time difference between CA and FL, but come on “journalists”…

    “The suspect was airlifted to the hospital with critical injuries and was still alive as of Saturday evening.”

    This event occurred 4 days ago (AUG 6 I believe, which was last Monday), it’s now Friday AUG 10… how do you know he will still be alive tomorrow evening???

  • gun_owner_bob August 10, 2018, 2:48 pm

    Get your concealed carry license or permit, then NEVER EVER be without your gun.Also, be sure to practice practice practice.Then, hope you never have to use the gun, but if you ever do, be able to shoot straight and true.~

  • C.Aldridge August 10, 2018, 2:07 pm

    Funny how there wasn’t anything about THIS in the news. Guess it didn’t fit their agenda (no victims or no “assault weapon”). Of course, what do you expect from the main stream media, CNN, MSNBC, etc.?

  • John Bibb August 10, 2018, 1:04 pm

    ***
    How it’s supposed work! Good shooting, Citizen. Makes shooting kids a career ender event.
    ***
    John Bibb
    ***

  • Richard L Sancibrian August 10, 2018, 11:04 am

    Proves another point that our President is right about the Fake MSM, But FOX news and John Q public will get the message out by word of mouth. A bit slower, but eventually the majority of the public will come to realize how slanted the MSM is, and hopefully it will be reflected in the ratings ending up in the Dump.

  • MJ August 10, 2018, 10:55 am

    Good guy with a gun? Wrong agenda and not enough carnage to qualify for mainstream.

  • Tim August 10, 2018, 10:34 am

    I hope this story gets heard. If the mainstream media won’t air it, everyone needs to broadcast it anyway they can—right down to word of mouth. This perfectly illustrates the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!

  • joefoam August 10, 2018, 10:07 am

    Not even a whisper of this story anywhere in the MSM. Gee, wonder why?

  • Russ August 10, 2018, 9:19 am

    The guy who FB lived the event said, “shoot around kids is just hard for me to understand” implying that they guy that just saved them was also in the wrong. Shame on him.

  • Ed Bernacki August 10, 2018, 9:11 am

    You are absolutely right Jamie. I live about an hour south of Titusville, and the local media did not report on this incident. The only national news media coverage was from Fox News Channel. You can bet that if the shooter in this case killed 20 people with an assault rifle the lamestream media outlets would have fallen all over themselves reporting on it for the next week. The armed citizen that stopped the shooter is a hero and should be lauded for his brave action.

    • FirstStateMark August 10, 2018, 12:11 pm

      I totally agree with you!

  • Wil Ferch August 10, 2018, 8:01 am

    Took the words right out of my mouth…..see the other response here….couldn’t have said it better myself but it’s worth repeaing for emphasis—>

    ” Also a shame that the media reports that the concealed weapons holder who saved the day isn’t expected to have charges filed. Why would that idea even be concidered? They should be giving that guy a medal!”

  • BR549 August 10, 2018, 7:46 am

    I’ll bet the shooter had a Hillary or Bernie sticker on his car.

  • Jamie August 10, 2018, 7:05 am

    Shame that the criminal is going to live another day…

    Also a shame that the media reports that the concealed weapons holder who saved the day isn’t expected to have charges filed. Why would that idea even be concidered? They should be giving that guy a medal!

    Also it’s a shame that it took a couple days to hear about this where I am, and I am not that far away.

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