Bystander Who Stopped Carjacker Is a Pastor

47-year-old also aided victim after the attack
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 19, 2018 12:20 PM CDT
Carjacker-Killing 'Hero' Is a Pastor
Police investigate the scene of a shooting at a Walmart in Tumwater, Wash., on Sunday.   (Bettina Hansen/The Seattle Times via AP)

Danner Barton's quick thinking meant he escaped an armed carjacking attempt Sunday with only a bullet wound to his hand. "I ducked my head and I gunned it" as the culprit opened fire in Tumwater, Wash., leaving a bullet lodged in his steering wheel, the 16-year-old tells KING5. Still, he's "super thankful" that a bystander eventually put an end to the violence. That bystander has not been identified by name, but he is a 47-year-old pastor and volunteer firefighter from Oakville, Wash. Police say the pastor shot and killed a carjacker identified as 44-year-old Tim Day in a Walmart parking lot—after Day attempted to steal three vehicles during a chaotic spree, say police. He was firing all the while, including inside the Walmart at one point. Another driver he shot remains hospitalized.

Megan Chadwick had just escaped the store with her four kids when Day exited. "I thought we were in the clear … and then I just heard four gunshots in a row," she tells KOMO News. Day was shot dead as he fired on yet another driver, police say. "Without him how many lives could [Day] have taken?" Barton says of the pastor, who also administered first aid to the more seriously wounded driver. "He is a hero," says another witness at Walmart. At least one other bystander present also drew a firearm. "Those men who stood up, they are heroes to me," says Chadwick. Noting Day had a criminal history, police have related the episode to drugs and mental health issues. (More carjacking stories.)

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