An armed security guard in Alabama is being lauded by police in the City of Huntsville after she took down a felon armed with an AK-pattern weapon.
Security officer Latoya [surname withheld] was working at Club 3208 on Monday morning when a fight broke out inside, resulting in suspect Samuel Williams being ejected from the club.
Working quickly, Latoya and her security team ensured that if the situation escalated, there would be no bystanders in the way.
“Outside, we did our job as security and made sure that everyone was back, and there was no one outside but the person and security,” she told WAAY31.
However, when Williams -a convicted felon who is prohibited from owning a firearm- made his way to his vehicle and began opening fire with an AK-pattern weapon, Latoya knew what she had to do.
“He started to make moves towards the door, he still was firing off shots, [so] I decided that I had to make a choice- to go ahead and stop him from entering the club,” she recounted. “I was behind a vehicle right here at this first handicap parking spot and basically just maneuvered around the vehicle as he maneuvered around the other side of it, to make sure I was properly concealed and covered.”
Shooting Williams, she immediately began to render aid once the scene was deemed safe.
“I’m not here to kill anyone. I saw one of the entry wounds was on his thigh, which can sometimes be a somewhat dangerous place to bleed out. I keep a trauma kit and tourniquet on me, as everyone who carries should,” Latoya said.
Williams was patched up at the hospital and is now facing multiple charges, including possession of a firearm by a felon.
For Latoya, she’s just glad no one was killed.
“Thankfully, he is still alive today. One day, he is going to have the opportunity to make better choices,” she said.