Two civilians cleared in fatal shooting of Louie’s gunman
The two armed civilians who fired upon the Louie’s shooter were justified in their actions and very likely saved lives, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater has decided.
The DA notified Bryan Whittle and Juan Carlos Nazario of his decision Friday in emotional phone calls.
The gunman, Alexander C. Tilghman, had fired toward the entrance of the Louie’s Grill & Bar at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City the evening of May 24. The civilians confronted him a short distance away.
Tilghman was killed after firing again during the confrontation.
“Both of the armed civilians shot at Tilghman in an attempt to defend themselves and others against Tilghman’s deadly threat,” the district attorney said in a news release Monday.
“The two civilians who engaged, and ultimately neutralized the threat posed by Tilghman, were justified and compliant with the law when they employed deadly force,” Prater said.
A police investigation determined Tilghman fired without warning at a mother, her two daughters and another girl as they walked up to the popular restaurant.
Three in the group were hit, and Prater described the gunman’s action as a murder attempt.
Tilghman was shot at least three or four times in a grassy area a short distance from the restaurant, according to police reports. Both civilians fired at him after he shot at Whittle.
Police reported Tilghman was wearing ear protection, safety glasses, a white shirt and khaki pants.
Prater said, “It should be noted that both of the civilians who neutralized Tilghman had received significant firearms training and employed tactics that lessened the potential that their use of deadly force would harm innocent bystanders.”
Whittle, 39, of The Village, is a master sergeant in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and has been deployed overseas to hostile areas. Nazario, 35, works as a security guard.
Whittle drove up to Louie’s after seeing people fleeing toward Lake Hefner. He thought someone had drowned and went to help.
Told a girl had been shot, Whittle grabbed his .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol and ran toward the gunman. He stayed in the parking lot, using vehicles as cover.
He told police he yelled at the shooter to put the gun down, to get down and to stop, according to police reports. He told police the gunman raised his pistol to fire. He described the gunman as having “glazed eyes.”
He told police he dove to the ground for cover as the shots went off then got back up to confront the gunman again. He told police he believes he shot three times as the gunman began raising the pistol again.
“I just reacted,” Whittle told The Oklahoman in May. “I just did it. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than I had to stop this guy and I’m not going to die here.”
Police made special note that Whittle during his interview about the shooting said “this situation was not what other guys might think.”
“Everything sucks about this,” Whittle told police.
Asked Monday about getting the phone call from the district attorney, Whittle said, “I just feel relieved that it was behind me. It just gave me closure.”
Nazario told police he was sitting with a friend on a park bench facing Lake Hefner when he heard the gunshots.
He went to his car and retrieved his .40-caliber Glock pistol, then went into Louie’s and asked customers, “Where’s he at?” according to police reports.
He went outside again after seeing the front glass door of the restaurant had been shot out. He said he saw the gunman fire twice at Whittle so he returned fire.
“Carlos believed he fired two rounds and thought he hit Tilghman in the leg and side of his chest,” police reported.
Tilghman, 28, of Oklahoma City, died at the scene. He had posted videos on YouTube about his beliefs demons were everywhere.
He had pleaded for help in April on YouTube, saying he was “under hardcore demonic attack.”
A Louie’s waitress who witnessed the final confrontation told police she never heard the gunman say anything.
After Prater’s announcement Monday, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt revealed he had previously expressed the city’s gratitude to the two men “but could not do so publicly until the District Attorney made his official determination.”
“Now we can say without reservation to Juan Carlos Nazario and Bryan Whittle: THANK YOU,” the mayor wrote on Twitter.