Armed Citizen Comes to the Rescue of Mother and Her Children
Pasco County, Florida — A Florida man is being called a hero by law enforcement authorities after intervening in a domestic violence situation on Wednesday evening.
According to Pasco County Sheriff, Chris Nocco, a resident of the Trinity Preserve neighborhood was mowing his lawn at around 6:50 p.m. when he heard screams and cries for help from a nearby home.
The man left his lawn mower and ran to see if he could be of assistance when he witnessed a woman attempting to lower elementary school aged children out of 2nd story window.
“I can just tell you personally, that has to be a horrific scene for somebody, a victim, to be placing young children out of a second story window because they are in such fear of their lives inside that house,” Sheriff Nocco said.
The neighbor helped the victim get the children out of the home and began to shepherd them back to the safety of his residence when the suspect came out after him with a gun.
The unidentified Good Samaritan attempted to deescalate the situation, but according to Sheriff Nocco, the suspect, “… wasn’t having anything to do with it.”
The suspect pulled a gun and began to shoot at the neighbor, who drew is own gun and returned fire, killing the suspect.
Officers responding to the scene found blood inside the victim’s home and reported the interior was in disarray, indicating that the attack had been ongoing for some time before the victim was able to get her children outside the home to safety with the help of the armed citizen.
There have been no reports of the victim’s injuries, or if any of the children were hurt during the intense situation.
Sheriff Nocco applauded the neighbor’s willingness to help, and said he was well within his rights to defend himself,
“All indications here, Victim 2 (the neighbor) is a hero. Victim number 2:
1. Was helping another victim who was the victim of domestic violence, (and made) sure those elementary school children were safe.
2. He went back to his own property and tried to defuse the situation, and the suspect starts firing rounds at him, and he was defending himself.”
Nocco went on to say:
“I want everyone in the community to understand and realize that protecting somebody’s life is a priority. So, I’m very proud to be a member of this community, because these are very tough situations.”
Having your pistol on your person, even while at home might be a good idea as detailed in this situation since it appears the armed citizen was armed while mowing the lawn on his property. Do you carry at home? What is your favorite way to do this?
This situation, like all domestic violence, is a dangerous and difficult problem to face but was handled admirably by the armed citizen. What lessons do you think can be learned from this? Leave a comment below to let us know.