Armed Bystander Kills Shooter Who Opened Fire At Restaurant
(CNN) -- An armed bystander gunned down a shooter Thursday at an Oklahoma City restaurant, killing him, police said.
A man walked into Louie's Grill & Bar and opened fire, striking three people, who are expected to survive. As the gunman ran from the scene, the bystander armed with a pistol confronted and fatally shot him outside the restaurant, Oklahoma City police Capt. Bo Mathews told reporters.
"Right now, all I know is that it was just a good Samaritan that was there and looks like he took the right measures to be able to put an end to a terrible, terrible incident," Mathews said.
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The Oklahoma City police identified the suspect as Alexander C. Tilghman, 28, of Oklahoma City. His motive was unknown.
The National Rifle Association quickly seized on the incident as "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. The powerful gun rights lobbying group commonly touts the mantra as part of its strategy in the wake of gun violence to identify ways -- apart from restricting firearms -- to enhance public safety.
The NRA also took a swipe at Gov. Mary Fallin, who two weeks ago vetoed a bill that would have made Oklahoma the 13th state to let residents carry guns without a permit.
In explaining her veto, Fallin, a Republican, noted that the bill would have eliminated firearms training requirements and softened background check rules.
The bill "eliminates the current ability of Oklahoma law enforcement to distinguish between those carrying guns who have been trained and vetted, and those who have not," Fallin said, according to a statement.
'They had taken him down'
When gunfire erupted Thursday at Louie's, in northwest Oklahoma City, "it sounded like, you know, any kind of restaurant noise, a rack of plates crashing ... glass breaking," Ron Benton, who was inside the cafe when the shooting began, told CNN affiliate KFOR.
"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," he said.
When the shooting stopped, Benton and some friends headed to Louie's parking lot. They spotted the gunman walking on a sidewalk, he said.
"He was just a 20-something-year-old kid," Benton said, "Didn't look very old. He was wearing ear protection and eye protection that you would have at a shooting range."
Then, Benton told KFOR, he saw a car circle back after exiting Louie's parking lot.
"A guy jumped out of it and went for the back of his vehicle. I just assumed maybe it was an off-duty officer or something like that," he said. "It was just the way he moved, whoever it was. He just appeared to be somebody who had some training, some weapon training."
Benton pointed the man toward the suspect, he recalled.
"They were like, 'Stop! stop! stop! Please! Put the gun down! Please put the gun down!' And I was pointing at him, I was like 'Down! Put it down! Put it down!' and they wound up exchanging fire," Benton told KFOR.
But, he said, the gunman wouldn't drop his weapon.
"I popped my head up, and they had taken him down," Benton said, adding that he then told a police officer who'd arrived on the scene that the man who shot and killed the restaurant shooter was "'here to help,'" KFOR reported.
Police later said two men confronted Tilghman and identified them as Carlos Nazario, 35, and Bryan Wittle, 39. It's not clear which man killed Tilghman.
'Very odd to be in the middle of it'
Four people were injured during the shooting. All are in "good condition," according to the Oklahoma City police.
A woman and a girl were shot after the gunman walked into the busy restaurant. They were hospitalized, said Mathews, the police captain. The two were celebrating a birthday, CNN affiliate KOCO reported.
A third woman was also wounded in the shooting.
A man fell and broke his arm after Tilghman began his assault, police said.
Police detained "a large number of witnesses" and, early on, said there was no indication of terrorism
"It's like, every day you hear the same story," Benton told KFOR. "But it was just very odd to be in the middle of it."
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