Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Armed Citizens End Gunman's Attack In Oklahoma Restaurant
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
May 25, 2018

Share

OKLAHOMA CITY — A gunman opened fire inside an Oklahoma City restaurant during the dinner rush, wounding a woman and two girls before two armed citizens shot him dead outside, police said Friday.
The suspected gunman, 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman, was armed with a pistol when he entered Louie’s On The Lake around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. A 39-year-old woman and two juvenile girls were shot and wounded, while an unnamed man fell and broke his arm while fleeing, according to a statement from police.

Louie's On The Lake Restaurant
Police officers stand at the scene of a shooting on the east side of Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City, Thursday, May 24, 2018. A man armed with a pistol walked into Louie’s On The Lake restaurant at the dinner hour and opened fire, wounding two customers, before being shot dead by a handgun-carrying civilian in the parking lot, police said. (Sarah Phipps/The Oklahoman via AP)
Tilghman was then shot dead outside the restaurant by two citizens identified by police as Juan Carlos Nazario and Bryan Wittle.

Four Victims in Good Condition

All four victims were reported in good condition Friday, according to Oklahoma City police Capt. Bo Mathews. A suspected motive for the shooting hasn’t been released.
Dennis Will said his daughter and granddaughter were among those shot. Talking with reporters outside the hospital where the shooting victims were taken, Will said his daughter called him after the shooting and said they had been shot while entering the restaurant for a birthday dinner.
A woman who answered the phone at the home believed to belong to Tilghman’s mother declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press. Telephone and text messages seeking comment from Nazario and Wittle were not immediately returned.
The Hal Smith Restaurant Group, which owns the restaurant, released a statement saying the restaurant will be closed Friday and counselors will be available to employees and customers.
“We are extremely thankful the situation didn’t escalate further, and that injuries were not more widespread. However, our hearts are with the wounded during this incident,” the statement read.
The statement referred other questions to police.

NRA Tweets Its Reaction

The National Rifle Association said in a tweet Friday that the shooting was an example of “how the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” The organization said it hopes the incident serves as a “wake-up call” for Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, who recently vetoed a so-called constitutional carry bill that would have allowed adults to carry firearms without a license or training in Oklahoma.


In April, a restaurant patron wrestled an assault-style rifle away from a gunman at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee. Four people were killed in that shooting. Police have said there would have been far more casualties if it weren’t for the patron’s quick thinking.

DON'T MISS

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

DON'T MISS

Israel Strikes Without Warning in Beirut, Kills at Least 15 as Cease-Fire Sought

DON'T MISS

Trump Taps Rollins as Ag Chief in Final Cabinet Pick

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

DON'T MISS

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

DON'T MISS

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

DON'T MISS

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

DON'T MISS

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

DON'T MISS

Nations at UN Climate Talks Agree on $300B a Year for Poor Countries in a Compromise Deal

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s Pick for Labor Secretary

UP NEXT

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

UP NEXT

Northern California Gets Record Rain and Heavy Snow. Many Have Been in the Dark for Days in Seattle

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Bomb Cyclone Kills 1 and Knocks Out Power to Over Half a Million Homes Across the Northwest US

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Riders Stuck in Midair for Over 2 Hours on Knott’s Berry Farm Ride

UP NEXT

Shouting Racial Slurs, Neo-Nazi Marchers Shock Ohio’s Capital

UP NEXT

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

UP NEXT

Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

9 hours ago

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

11 hours ago

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

11 hours ago

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

13 hours ago

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

13 hours ago

Nations at UN Climate Talks Agree on $300B a Year for Poor Countries in a Compromise Deal

1 day ago

What to Know About Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s Pick for Labor Secretary

1 day ago

What to Know About Scott Turner, Trump’s Pick for Housing Secretary

1 day ago

Trump Taps Investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

1 day ago

NATO Head and Trump Meet in Florida for Talks on Global Security

1 day ago

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

LONG BEACH — Amar Augillard led Fresno State with 25 points and David Douglas Jr. made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 42 seconds left as the Bull...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

8 hours ago

Israel Strikes Without Warning in Beirut, Kills at Least 15 as Cease-Fire Sought

8 hours ago

Trump Taps Rollins as Ag Chief in Final Cabinet Pick

9 hours ago

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

11 hours ago

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

11 hours ago

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

13 hours ago

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

13 hours ago

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend