FL Mass Shooting Averted Thanks To One Man's Bravery :: 06/22/2020

If someone shows up to a random location where people congregate–a mall, a restaurant or bar, school, etc.–with something like an AK-47 and opens fire, we all have a pretty good idea of what he’s trying to accomplish. This isn’t generally how someone settles a disagreement with an individual on a one-on-one basis, by and large.

Especially when you open fire while still outside the establishment in question.

Yet that’s precisely what William Carrodus did.

Now, we don’t normally name mass shooters because we don’t want to encourage this sort of thing. However, Carrodus isn’t a mass shooter. He failed to reach that threshold, all because of the actions of the one man he did kill.

A delivery driver opened fire with an assault rifle at a pizzeria killing a 34-year-old who police said tried to get fellow employees and customers out of the busy restaurant just before noon Friday.

Police said the gunman, William Carrodus, 56, who fired “over a dozen” rounds at Giuseppe’s Pizzeria & Italian Cuisine, shot and killed Frank Strahorn, of Sebastian, who was also an employee at the restaurant.

Officials said Strahorn was pronounced dead at Sebastian River Medical Center.

…

Wood said Carrodus, of Sebastian, began firing outside the restaurant, striking parked cars and even a nearby home before he entered the restaurant through its main entrance where he reportedly continued firing.

“There were more people inside the restaurant,” Wood said. “The restaurant was fully open … it was right before lunch.

…

Wood said witnesses told police about Strahorn’s actions as Carrodus began shooting.

“The victim was doing a good job as far as getting people out of there to the best of his ability,” Wood said. “He was yelling at them to get out of the restaurant.”

Altogether “more than a dozen” rounds were fired damaging the restaurant as well as nearby vehicles and a home.

When he was done, Carrodus sat the weapon down and waited for the police.

Strahorn’s bravery likely saved a lot of lives, yet you didn’t hear about this on the national news. This wasn’t trending on Twitter or anywhere else. The only reason I knew of it was because of Strahorn’s history.

You see, Strahorn, the pizzeria hero, was apparently a Marine veteran. He served in combat with a good friend of mine, which is how I learned of what transpired. It also explains where he learned to keep a cool enough head to get people out and to safety, putting their lives ahead of his own.

We live in a weird time. On top of the civil unrest, we have people like Carrodus who think that every dispute needs to be handled with lethal violence. They’re ready to slaughter dozens of innocent people over a disagreement.

That means we also need heroes like Strahorn. We need people who will put their lives on hold, who are willing to make other people their priority and get them to safety.

When our mutual friend told me what happened, I said I would write this story. I want the world to know what Frank Strahorn did. His is a name we need to remember. His is the name we need to remember, not the name of the jackwagons that slaughter so indiscriminately.

My friend, Jonathan LaForce, who served with Strahorn in the Marines, said, “Tell the word we loved him. Tell them he represented the very best of us. And that as much as it hurts that we should lose so good a man, he was exactly the man every single person in that pizzeria needed.”

LaForce said it perfectly.

Frank Strahorn is a hero and needs to be remembered as such. Keep his family in your prayers and remember his valor. Tell your children about it with the awe and reverence his sacrifice deserves.

We talk a lot about having a gun for a moment like this, but if that’s not possible, we at least need people like Strahorn. May we have legions more among us.

Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger and lifetime shooter. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia. He's also the host of Unloaded TV on YouTube. https://bearingarms.com/author/tomknighton/

https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2020/06/22/fl-mass-shooting-averted/