Two armed citizens confronted and killed a suspected shooter outside an Oklahoma City restaurant on Thursday after the shooter opened fire at the restaurant and wounded at least two people.
Oklahoma City Police announced that the lone shooter was the only fatality, CNN reported.
“The only confirmed fatality is the suspect. He was apparently shot-to-death by an armed citizen. Three citizens were injured, two of whom were shot. A large number of witnesses are detained. There is no indication of terrorism at this point,” the Oklahoma City Police tweeted.
⚠️ ALERT: The only confirmed fatality is the suspect. He was apparently shot-to-death by an armed citizen. Three citizens were injured, two of whom were shot. A large number of witnesses are detained. There is no indication of terrorismat this point.
— Oklahoma City Police (@OKCPD) May 25, 2018
The attacker, identified by police as 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman of Oklahoma City, opened fire at Louie’s Grill & Bar from outside the front door, according to Police Capt. Bo Matthews.
The shooter attempted to run from the scene before being confronted by two bystanders who retrieved handguns from their vehicles.
“They were able to shoot this suspect and put an end to this very dangerous situation,” Mathews said.
The heroes – Carlos Nazario, 35, and Bryan Wittle, 39 – did not know each other. Their actions were “well within their legal rights” according to Matthews, and they would be protected by good Samaritan laws.
“These guys were protecting somebody else’s life,” the police captain said. “You can say they are heroes.”
The three individuals wounded by gunfire remain in good condition, according to police.
Little is known about the attacker or his motive at this point, and the event appeared to be a random attack.
“It doesn’t look like he knew anybody at the restaurant,” Matthews said. He added that Tilghman had no known history of mental illness and appears to have acted alone.
Ron Benton, a witness inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting, said that it “sounded like, you know, any kind of restaurant noise, a rack of plates crashing … glass breaking. But it was followed by a pop pop pop sound, and a wall of people started making their way to the floor, and making their way around to the backside of the bar.”
Following the attack, the shooter was spotted by Benton walking on the sidewalk before being confronted by bystanders in their truck.
The NRA was quick to respond to the incident, touting that it was “just another example of how the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” according to a tweet on Friday.
✅ An #ArmedCitizen saved multiple lives last night in #OKC. We hope this serves as a wake-up call for @GovMaryFallin, who just two weeks ago vetoed a constitutional carry bill. Just another example of how the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. #2A pic.twitter.com/kPRjpiyeow
— NRA (@NRA) May 25, 2018
