Civilians who shot restaurant gunman say they stopped threat

Police and emergency personnel surround the scene of a shooting at 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. (Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman via AP)
Police and emergency personnel surround the scene of a shooting at 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. (Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman via AP)

OKLAHOMA CITY — The man suspected of shooting three people inside an Oklahoma City restaurant before being fatally shot by bystanders had no obvious connection to the victims or the restaurant, and was legally authorized to carry a firearm, authorities said.

Investigators are trying to determine a motive behind the Thursday night attack that wounded four people, according to Oklahoma City Police Capt. Bo Mathews. He said the only interaction police had with the suspected gunman, 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman, was 15 years ago when his mother reported he'd repeatedly punched her during a dispute over a vacuum cleaner.

Police praised the two armed bystanders for quickly responding. Investigators say Juan Carlos Nazario and Bryan Whittle each retrieved a firearm from their vehicles and shot Tilghman outside the restaurant.

"I just did what I was trained to do to neutralize the situation," Nazario, a trained security guard, told local television station KWTV in a brief interview. Whittle was also largely mum, telling the station he "stopped the threat."

Mathews said Thursday's shooting appeared to be random but noted that Tilghman drove to the restaurant and wore protective gear for his ears and eyes.

"It looked like his mind was made up that he was going to discharge his firearm once he got there," Mathews said during a Friday news conference. Mathews stressed that the investigation was ongoing and confirmed that Tilghman's mental health was being looked into.

On a Facebook page that police said belonged to Tilghman, the man posts a video in which he claims his television is possessed by the devil. The page uses the same profile photo as a YouTube channel where a man that appears to be Tilghman also describes demons possessing his TV and being surrounded by computers.

He calmly begs for help from "a real human," saying he's suicidal, lonely and "really losing it."

The director of the LGBT rights group Freedom Oklahoma, Troy Stevenson, said Tilghman is the same man who distributed flyers across Oklahoma City earlier this year warning of demons taking over people's bodies. And a reporter with the LGBT publication The Gayly conducted an interview in January with Tilghman, who warned of "demons in cloned transexual (sic) bodies."

Flyers with similar messages were plastered all over a vehicle that Tilghman drove, said Ryan Beaulac, who said he frequently saw Tilghman at his apartment complex in northwest Oklahoma City.

Beaulac said he saw Tilghman acting strangely Wednesday night.

"He was twitchy, grabbing his hair and acting weird," the 35-year-old Beaulac said. "I was uncomfortable and definitely wanted to get away from him."

A man who identified himself as Tilghman's brother told television station KOCO that Tilghman needed mental health treatment, saying: "Nobody reached out to him, you know. He was crying for help."

Tilghman was licensed as an armed security guard, which authorized him to carry a firearm, said Gerald Konkler, general counsel for the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. The council certifies law enforcement officers and other armed personnel across the state. Obtaining such a license requires a background check and at least 72 hours of training.

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.

Police said Tilghman was armed with a pistol when he opened fire inside Louie's On The Lake around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. A 39-year-old woman and two girls were shot and wounded, while an unarmed man broke his arm while trying to flee.

All four victims were in good condition Friday, according to police.

Mathews, the police spokesman, praised the two citizens who retrieved firearms from their vehicles and shot Tilghman outside the restaurant. He said it was unlikely that either man would face criminal charges.

"They were able to shoot the suspect and put an end to a very dangerous situation," Mathews said.

The Hal Smith Restaurant Group, which owns the restaurant, said the restaurant was closed Friday and counselors were 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 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."

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.

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