Joseph Walker was one of at least 18 people who were killed Wednesday evening when a gunman entered several local businesses in Lewiston, Maine and began shooting.
Although Walker has been hailed as a hero, his father Leroy Walker said knowing his son died a hero makes things so much worse.
Leroy relayed what the state police told his daughter-in-law to NBC’s Lester Holt, explaining how it wasn’t a comfort knowing his son died a hero.
“Joey Walker was shot to death at Schemengee’s — shot to death,” Leroy said. “Then he went into telling her that he died as a hero because he picked up a butcher knife from somewhere — he has all that stuff near the bar anyways. And he tried to go at the gunman to stop him from shooting anybody else. The gunman shot him twice through the stomach.”
Holt asked Leroy if it made any difference knowing his son died trying to save other people’s lives.
“It made it worse. Yeah, it made it worse,” he replied.
Now, he, like so many families of Lewiston are struggling with how to move forward.
“Joe was a great, great son, a loving husband. He had two grandchildren and a stepson… thousands of people loved him,” Leroy told MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera. “What are we gonna do tomorrow, the next day? How are we gonna handle this?”
As of Friday morning the manhunt for Robert Card continues. Eighteen people have died and 13 people have been injured.
My prayers got out to all of the families impacted by this heinous crime. When will meaningful action take place to put an end to gun violence?
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