'Hero' exchanged fire with gunman, then helped chase him down
Updated 1339 GMT (2139 HKT) November 7, 2017
(CNN)The
deadliest shooting in Texas history could have claimed even more lives
if it weren't for two strangers who jumped into action, authorities
said.
When Devin
Patrick Kelley opened fire inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland
Springs on Sunday, Stephen Willeford, who lives near the church, grabbed
his own gun and ran out of the house barefoot to confront the gunman.
"What
do you say to the man who stepped up when he heard the gunshots? I'd
say he's a hero," Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt Jr. told CNN's Chris
Cuomo on Monday. "I don't think there's any question about that. Had he
not done what he did, we could have lost more people."
As
Kelley sped away in a pearl-colored Ford Explorer, Willeford knew he
still had a part to play. He spotted Johnnie Langendorff's truck across
the street and hailed him down.
"I said, 'that guy just shot up the Baptist church. We need to stop him," Willeford told CNN affiliate KHBS.
Langendorff
didn't hesitate. "I had to make sure he was caught," Langendorff told
CNN. "It was, 'Do everything necessary to make sure that this guy is
stopped.'"
With that, the hunt for a killer began.
Stephen Willeford, right, meets Johnnie Langendorff at a vigil Monday for the shooting victims.
"Let's go"
Kelley entered the small church in the rural town east of San Antonio, firing with a rifle at the congregation attending the morning service. He killed 26 people and injured at least 20 more.
Willeford heard the commotion and ran outside with his gun as Kelley was leaving the church.
"He saw me and I saw him. I was standing behind the pickup truck for cover," Willeford told KHBS. "It was surreal to me that it could be happening. I could not believe it.
The
two exchanged gunfire. "I know I hit him. I don't know where I hit
him," Willeford said. Law enforcement said Willeford struck him in the
leg and torso.
Willeford loaded his
magazine as fast as he could, his cousin, Ken Leonard, told CNN's
Brooke Baldwin. "He didn't even know how many rounds he had put in the
magazine."
Kelley got into his
vehicle and fired off rounds through the driver's side open window as
drove away, Willeford said. That's when Willeford approached Langendorff
for a ride.
Langendorff said he was driving by the church on the way to his girlfriend's house when he saw Kelley and Willeford with their weapons drawn.
"There was exchange of gunfire. It lasted just a few seconds, and the shooter got in his vehicle and took off," he told CNN.
Willeford opened Langendorff's door, told him the gunman had shot up the church and urged the driver to step on it.
"We got to chase him," Willeford said, according to Langendorff. He said he answered, "Let's go."
They led police to the gunman
Kelley
was far out of sight as the two took off down 539, but Langendorff hit
the gas. Each time he looked down at the speedometer, it was between 90
and 95 mph, he said.
Eventually, they had him in their sights. While weaving between cars on the country road they called 911 to offer directions.
The chase had lasted about 10 minutes when Kelley veered off to the side of the road as if to pull over, Willeford told KHBS. Then, Kelley hit a stop sign, lost control and came to a stop in a ditch near the county line, he said.
Willeford
said he got of out the car, propped his rifle on the hood, and yelled
at Kelley to get out of the car. Langendorff said he ran into the road
to direct traffic.
"I never saw any movement, but I wasn't gonna let him go anywhere," Willeford told KHBS.
Police
arrived about five minutes later and approached the gunman's vehicle.
They found Kelley dead inside, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to
the head.
Asked
by CNN what he was thinking at the time, Langendorff said, "Nothing.
Get him." Why? "Because that's what you do, you chase a bad guy." And he
has no regrets about throwing himself into such a dangerous situation.
The
shooting was a horrific tragedy, Langendorff said. "I hope that
everyone affected is able to rest a little better knowing that this guy,
he'll never breathe again, he said. "It doesn't serve it justice
completely. But he won't hurt anyone else ever."
Bravery seen at another church shooting
It was the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history -- and the fifth deadliest in modern US history.
Willeford's
actions were similar to another man's act of bravery during a another
church shooting earlier this year in Antioch, Tennessee.
As
the service at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ was ending on
September 24, a gunman -- whom police identified as 25-year-old Emanuel
Kidega Samson -- entered the church with a pair of pistols and started firing.
An usher at the church, Robert Engle, sprang into action -- struggling
with the suspect, even as he was being pistol-whipped, police said.
Church usher wounded while stopping shooter
"Mr.
Samson didn't expect Mr. Engle to encounter him, to struggle with him,
to try to stop the shooting," said Don Aaron, the spokesman for the
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
During the altercation, the gunman accidentally shot himself in the chest with his own weapon, police said.
When the gunman fell, Engle, despite his head injuries, ran to his car and came back with a pistol of his own, police said.
Engle, who has a permit for a handgun, then made sure Samson stayed on the ground until officers arrived, Aaron said.
Clarification:
This story has been revised to remove a statement by Ken Leonard that
Devin Patrick Kelley carjacked a vehicle when the gunman left the scene
of the shooting.
