Imagine yourself sitting comfortably in one of your favorite restaurants, situated next to a beautiful lake. You’re enjoying your meal, the company you’re in and the view you have… and then shots ring out. A shooter outside the window has begun to fire into the restaurant. People are hit by gunfire. Others panic and begin to run for the exit, never stopping to think that they are running outside where the shooter is. Other shots are fired and then things go quiet except for the on-going sounds of panic and fear.
That’s probably a good estimation of what happened at Louie’s Lakeside Eatery, a restaurant in Oklahoma City situated on the edge of Lake Hefner. On Thursday, May 24th, 2018 at about 6:30pm, the shooter – one Alexander C. Tilghman – situated himself just outside the front of the restaurant and began firing through the glass at the patrons inside.
There were three people injured by his gunfire into the restaurant and another injury incurred during the panicked reaction to the attack. The three shooting victims were:
· Natalie Giles, a 39 year old mom who was there with her daughter, was grazed by a bullet.
· Natalie’s daughter, Syniah, a 12 year old, was shot through the lower back and spent approximately a week in the hospital recovering.
· Another 12 year old female, otherwise unidentified and with no further information available on the extent of her injuries.
There was a four injury – a man broke his arm – caused during the rush of people to escape the restaurant in response to the shooting.
Outside the restaurant, upon hearing the shots Tilghman was firing, two men responded by securing their own handguns and acting to neutralize the threat Tilghman presented. Juan C. Nazario was nearby waiting to participate in a soccer game when he heard the shots. He ran to his car to get his gun and go intervene. Bryan Wittle was driving by when he saw the commotion outside the restaurant. He pulled in to see what assistance he could offer. Upon realizing the situation, he grabbed his gun as well. Nazario and Wittle both confronted the gunman (Tilghman), demanding that he drop his weapon. Reportedly, Tilghman fired on the two men who returned fire. Tilghman was neutralized and the two men were originally arrested until the police could figure out who everyone was and what had been done.
(Editor’s Note: One mainstream media outlet published an article the next morning with this headline: “Armed Bystanders Gunned Down Shooter, Killing Him.” Once again we see an instance of how language and tone matter in reporting. These two men, who you’ll learn more about momentarily, responded to a threat – a threat to other people – and they acted with courage to neutralize that threat, likely saving an unknown number of lives. They fired only the number of rounds necessary and hit no one except the bad guy. Yet a media outlet responsible for impartially reporting the news chose to use sensationalistic language. That is, in this editor’s opinion, irresponsible reporting.)
Juan Carlos Nazario is a former police officer, employed at the time of the shooting as a security guard, but always legally armed. His statement after the fact was, “I was just doing what I was supposed to do.” His duty as a police officer was still part of his behavioral ethos and he reacted as he’d been trained; and as the oath he’d taken required.
Bryan Wittle was (and may still be) an Air National Guardsman who worked full time for the Federal Aviation Administration. His statement was that he “just reacted.” “There’s a guy with a gun. I’ve got a gun. Stop the threat.” As an Air National Guard member, he too had taken an oath to protect and defend, and he behaved in accordance with his oath when the threat was presented.
At the time he committed the shooting, Tilghman was 28 years old, certified and licensed by the state to act as a security officer and held a valid gun permit. He was reportedly wearing both hearing protection and eye protection when he committed his attack – as if he was at the range training or qualifying. He may have had every intention of surviving the attack and escaping after the fact.
While no definitive motive for the attack could be found during the post event investigation, there was a plethora of evidence that Tilghman was mentally disturbed. Tilghman’s social media platforms and YouTube channel revealed just how out of touch with reality he was. During some of his video recorded statements in April of 2018, he claimed to be “under hardcore demonic attack” and made pleas for help from “anyone real.” In many of the approximately two dozen posts he made in two days in April, he mentioned demonic birds, ducks, squirrels, locusts or parrots. His videos claim that all of these animals are demonic and laughing at him or harassing him. Why he would shoot people instead of animals then is unknown. Perhaps his delusions had evolved from animals to people? Perhaps he was merely setting up an insanity defense and had planned to commit mass murder?
We will never know since he took that information to the grave with him. What we can know and be thankful for is that all of his victims recovered physically and two responsible citizens responded quickly to neutralize the threat Tilghman presented, saving lives in the process.
