Guardsman who Intervened in Oklahoma Shooting Says He's 'Average Guy'

The Associated Press 29 May 2018
OKLAHOMA CITY — One of two armed bystanders credited with fatally shooting a gunman who opened fire at an Oklahoma City restaurant said he crouched behind cars as he approached the shooter and tried to get him to drop his weapon but the man kept firing.

Guardsman who Intervened in Oklahoma Shooting Says He's 'Average Guy'


Police and emergency personnel surround the scene of a shooting at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City, Thursday, May 24, 2018. (Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman via AP)
The Associated Press 29 May 2018
OKLAHOMA CITY — One of two armed bystanders credited with fatally shooting a gunman who opened fire at an Oklahoma City restaurant said he crouched behind cars as he approached the shooter and tried to get him to drop his weapon but the man kept firing.

Bryan Whittle gave his first detailed account of the Thursday night shooting while speaking with The Oklahoman on Saturday. He scoffed at suggestions he was a hero, saying: "I just feel like I'm just an average guy who had the right tool to help at the right time."


Whittle said he and his wife were driving by the lakeside restaurant, Louie's On The Lake, when they saw a commotion outside. Whittle said he pulled into the parking lot, and witnesses pointed out the gunman, who investigators say had shot and wounded a woman and two girls inside.

"I just reacted," the 39-year-old said. "I wasn't thinking about anything other than I had to stop this guy and I'm not going to die here."

Whittle, a master sergeant in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, said he grabbed his .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol and moved toward where everyone was pointing. He said he crouched behind parked cars for cover and yelled at the gunman to drop his weapon. He realized the gunman was wearing protective ear gear, so he gestured with his hand, but the gunman raised his weapon.

Whittle said he heard gunshots. He dove. He said he jumped back up and ran around to the other side of the car. The gunman turned around and looked at him.

"I see the gun again in his hand. And then I, you know, finished trying to stop the threat. Until he fell on the ground," Whittle said.

He wasn't aware that another armed civilian had come to help until he heard that man say, "Clear him. I got you. Clear him."

The other armed bystander, Juan Carlos Nazario, is a trained security guard. He hasn't talked at length with the media about the confrontation, but he told local television station KWTV that he "just did what I was trained to do to neutralize the situation."

Whittle, who said he had been deployed eight times in his 18 years of military service, agreed to publicly detail the shooting at the urging of his great-uncle, state Rep. Bobby Cleveland.

"Bryan is a very rare individual," Cleveland said. "He just feels ... he just happened to be there in the right time at the right place."

Police said the gunman wounded three people at the restaurant: a 39-year-old woman who was grazed by bullets; her 12-year-old daughter, who was shot in the stomach and remains hospitalized; and a 14-year-old family friend who was shot in her arm or wrist. The trio was shot as they entered the restaurant for a birthday dinner and didn't know the gunman, according to relatives.

Police have said shooting appeared to be random and confirmed they were looking into the mental health of the suspected gunman, Alexander Tilghman.

The FBI said Saturday it had been contacted about a YouTube channel associated with Tilghman, 28, but determined no further action was needed.

Officials said a caller earlier this month reported concerns about the channel, but didn't mention any potential threat of violence and didn't have knowledge of the man possessing weapons. The FBI said that per protocol, no further investigation was warranted.

Earlier this year, the FBI got an informal tip regarding the YouTube account but determined the content was protected by the First Amendment.

In the channel, Tilghman describes demons possessing his TV and says he's "really losing it." He calmly begs for help from "a real human" in one video, saying he's suicidal, lonely and "really losing it.

 

Anyone that faces an armed threat is a hero in my book.

 

...and the FBI didn't get a clue? They couldn't run this guy in for a psych-eval?

Sometimes I think there are elements within the FBI and other federal organizations who ignore such warnings in the hopes that more mass shootings will occur, fanning the flames of gun control. Sure, people will be injured and killed. But the ends justify the means to the political left.

 

They can't call locals with a heads up ?

 

Our beloved government plotted to commit bombings and other terrorist events against the general population here in the good ole U.S.A. during the Cuban fiasco and blame it on the Cubans. Fortunately, it was nixed, deciding on the Gulf of Tonkin incident to kill 60,000 of our kids instead. We have a long and verifiable history of false-flag incidents to further an agenda, and only a fool would look for anything but more.

 

I know there are good people at the FBI and all the other organizations my reasoning for lack of trust is I have worked in sectors where the people doing the work were diligent but the bureaucrats and government level seemed to not have a common goal and in some cases actually were combatant so far as to undermine the aim of the agency itself. That is why years ago when I payed attention about a group behind the scenes pulling strings or sabotaging the system even traitorous dogs that subvert or twist the rules., that and a few incidents that got me to watching my back a time or two where it seem setup and that I was placed in a situation I was not suppose to get out of. All I can say I cannot take the credit it was a God thing.

I can say that at that level I wondered why, I can only guess that people need to be tested for their evil and groomed for higher positions to hold power within a group and bring in new blood and to maintain control and direct the policy and get the outcomes they desire. I wonder just who is holding the leash of certain politicians and Trump has smoke them out on both sides including foreign leaders the legal system banksters and criminal classes, so it shows that many of these are working together -- well they would have to not to get caught and be able to move internationally - crazy isn't it.

 

I can see a whole mess where people have weapons taken on the word of others. I think it will get ugly.