Off-duty policewoman uses her gun to stop a mass shooting at a theater

Story from WOAI News.

Excerpt:

 Two people are hospitalized after a gunman chased terrified restaurant patrons into the lobby of the Santikos Mayan 14 movie theater during a showing of “The Hobbit” last night, 1200 WOAI news reports.

Police detectives and sheriff’s investigators say the incident started in the China Garden Restaurant on Southwest Military Drive about 9 PM Sunday, when an employee of the restaurant walked in looking for a woman.

When the woman, who officials say is also a restaurant employee, wasn’t there, the man pulled a gun and attempted to open fire in the restaurant but his weapon jammed.

“It started at the restaurant and then went into the parking lot and then into the movie theater,” Deputy Lou Antu told 1200 WOAI news.

Investigators say some of the terrified restaurant patrons poured into the movie theater, and the gunman followed.

He opened fire, shooting one man in the chest, before Antu says an off duty sheriff’s deputy who was working security at the theater shot him once.

“The officer involved, she took the appropriate action to try to keep everyone safe in the movie theater,” Antu said.

The gunman and the patron are hospitalized.

Antu says the gunman never made it into the theater itself, thanks largely to the heroic work of the off duty deputy.

“She did what she felt she had to do,” Antu said.  “I feel that she saved a lot of lives by taking the action she had to take.”

That’s what could have happened at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut – if some of the teachers had been armed with concealed weapons. If doesn’t have to be a security guard or an off-duty police officer. Anyone who has a legally-owned firearm can stop a shooting like this, and even deter others.