Megan Leann Holden,19
Police said she was killed at the hands of a man who went on a multistate crime spree before he turned up Friday at an Arizona hospital with a gunshot wound.
Posted on 01/23/2005 3:04:09 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
The man being credited with stopping the accused kidnapper is no stranger to danger.
He moved to Bowie after retiring from the New York City Fire Department where he was one of the first people into the World Trade Center after terrorists first attempted to topple the towers in 1993.
He says, "I just drew and fired."
His one shot went thru 24-year-old Johnny Williams's shoulder and through the cinder block of the building.
Ritchie doesn't want his last name known.
He says the suspect walked into the Mountain View RV Park in Bowie at 5:45 a.m. and told him this was a robbery and to give him all the money in the cash register.
Ritchie says, "I saw his gun coming out. He reached inside his sweatshirt. I saw a gun and I said 'Oh well, time to react.' I reacted faster than he did."
Ritchie told Eywitness News 4 that after he shot the suspect, he called 911, looked out the window, and saw the would-be robber running through the parking lot and getting into his parked truck.
Ritchie was the wrong man to mess with. His weapons instructor told Eyewitness News 4 that all the locals know he carries a sidearm.
"We've never been robbed, seeing it changes a lot of people's attitude. It's an attitude-adjustment tool," Ritchie says.
It's that tool, Ritchie says, that saved his life and probably the lives of others.
"He put my life in danger by drawing his weapon. He brought on it himself."
Ritchie did all this in about two seconds and, at the time, he didn't know Johnson was wanted for murder.
His message to the man he shot?
"You got what you deserved. Now you got to pay. You got caught."
Great job!
Exactly!
Most every guy I knew in my local FD was strapped.
Ping...
Isn't this the man who shot the guy who kidnapped and murdered the young woman from the Walmart store in Texas?
Thanks!
"You got what you deserved. Now you got to pay. You got caught."...STUPID!
Good Shooting
Thats the one.
The State of Texas needs to present this gentleman with a medal.
As far as the perp, when he gets back to Texas he will wish the fireman had killed him.
He needs to go back to the range and concentrate on hitting center mass.
I thought it might be the same one. It was all over TV in Albuquerque because he kidnapped her in TX and passed through NM on his way to AZ.
The State of Texas needs to present this gentleman with a medal.
I agree. Thank God he shot him before he killed someone else.
As far as the perp, when he gets back to Texas he will wish the fireman had killed him.
I hope they put him to death. Immediately! What a horrible thing to have happened to that young woman. She was still just a kid, and he ended her life for nothing.
It doesn't speak well of current Marine training that the marine lost a gunfight with a retired firefighter.
Good for him....as long as some idiot doesn't want him charged with assault or something equally stupid.
I don't think he was very a good 'marine' to begin with.
Good point.
Yes. He is a murderer. Also a Marine. Also black. But the news only says he is a Marine. Is that relevant? Is it prejudicial against the Marines?
I'm thinking not a chance, considering local opinion. (I'm a Tucson resident, so I've seen the KVOA broadcast that triggered this thread.)
Now if this had gone down in the Big Apple, this ex-NYFD man might be in big trouble.
Yes, and God Bless him!
sundero
Nicely enough, the AZ Daily Star (Tucson daily rag) referred to him as "...disgraced Marine..." - I thought that was a nice touch.
Megan Leann Holden,19
Police said she was killed at the hands of a man who went on a multistate crime spree before he turned up Friday at an Arizona hospital with a gunshot wound.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.