A frightening Las Vegas incident Friday afternoon that could have turned tragic ended when an armed citizen stood up to a potential mass shooter and stopped him in his tracks. And a resident is calling that citizen a hero.
According to police and local media, an attacker wearing a helmet and carrying an AR-15 and other firearms entered the Turnberry Towers condominium.
The man who intervened was a building employee.
Video from the incident showed the suspect firing shots through glass windows and near the front desk. When authorities arrived at the scene they found two people — one suffering from a gunshot wound.
The wounded suspected shooter was taken to a nearby hospital where at last word he was listed in critical condition.
Worst active shooter ever.
Dude gets lit up immediately after shooting out the glass doors and entering Turnberry Towers in Las Vegas.
pic.twitter.com/syz3oqjeSA— Donut Operator 🍩 (@DonutOperator) June 27, 2023
A resident at a nearby apartment complex, Benjamin Teal, told reporters that his life may have been saved by a valet attendant who was working in the building. The worker emerged waving his hands and told him that “there is a guy with a gun, turn around and go the other way.”
Teal said he immediately went down to the basement. That was when he heard “six to seven or eight gunshots. It was pretty distinguishable to be a gunshot.”
Police who surrounded the area called it an “isolated incident,” though details are still sparse.
One resident, however, posted specifics of the scary encounter on social media. Brianna Dymond tweeted that “it was a resident. Unprovoked, never had issues with anyone here, just went to his car, grabbed an AK and came back in and shot the front lobby up.”
She added thanks to “Homberto, who works in receiving.” Dymond called him a hero and reported that he shot the suspect and in doing so “saved so many lives. Nobody was injured other than the shooter.”
There is no way to know how many lives Homberto saved Friday, but he stepped into a dangerous situation and put down the attacker. Las Vegas is only too familiar with having a mass shooter bring chaos to the city, and this situation could have ended far worse.
The hero identified as Homberto is undoubtedly responsible for unknown others having a new lease on life. They will never know if he saved them from being killed, but many should express their gratitude.
And yet another situation of a good guy with a gun is getting precious little media coverage. Still, it served notice to those who protect Second Amendment rights that their cause is just, and an armed citizen once again saved the day.
