A man who has chosen to remain unnamed has just put a stop to what could have become the most horrific mass killing in Fort Smith. Witnesses on the scene described how the suspect lured neighbors outside their apartments and murdered 87-year-old Lois Hicks.
The intervention that saved the day came from a man who decided to use his own gun to shoot the massacre suspect and protect the community, as KFSM-TV reported.
How did it all happen?
As the authorities have stated, armed 26-year-old Zachary Arnold, was a resident in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The tragic shooting occurred precisely at the apartment complex where he was staying.
The suspect was outside his building on Saturday morning when he suddenly started shouting for all residents to come outside.
Arnold had a rifle on him when he met his elderly neighbor, 87-year-old Lois Hicks. Another neighbor told the station that a woman and Hicks were actually coming to help and “console” Arnold when he opened fire.
“There were two older women, both had come out. One of them had ran back in, and the other one ran back in, but she didn't close her door, then he walked in and did what he did,” the neighbor went on to say for the news outlet.
What happened next?
After the fatal shot against Hicks, Arnold kept firing several rounds from his rifle while trying to convince other neighbors to come out of their homes.
“He was yelling and screaming, 'You guys get out here, come out here, everyone get out of this building right now!’” another neighbor said about the terrifying situation.
When did it all change?
One neighbor, whose identity has not been made public, took his own rifle and courageously came out of his apartment, decided to end the killing mayhem. He fatally shot Arnold and put an immediate stop to the mass shooting.
“If he didn't do that, who knows how much worse it could have gotten,” another neighbor said for the news station.
It’s not clear what made Arnold storm out of the apartment complex the way he did and set out to kill the people who lived there. The incident is currently under investigation and it is not known at this time whether the man who saved them all will face any charges related to the shooting.
“We are terribly saddened by the incident which happened this morning. We are working diligently with the police in any way we can. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families today,” Dixie Property Management reportedly stated after the killing.
No other residents were injured in the Fort Smith mass shootin