AP

Slain student hailed as hero for confronting campus gunman

May 1, 2019, 6:56 PM | Updated: 6:56 pm

CHARLOTTE, NC - MAY 1: Charlotte-Mecklenburg law enforcement stand in front front of the Kennedy bu...

CHARLOTTE, NC - MAY 1: Charlotte-Mecklenburg law enforcement stand in front front of the Kennedy building where a gunman killed two people and injured four students at UNC Charlotte May 1, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Campus police responded to the scene on Tuesday and apprehended a suspect, 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

(Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina college student tackled a gunman who opened fire in his classroom, saving others’ lives but losing his own in the process, police said Wednesday.

Riley Howell, 21, was among the students gathered for end-of-year presentations in an anthropology class at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte when a gunman with a pistol began shooting students. Howell and another student were killed; four others were wounded.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Howell “took the assailant off his feet,” but was fatally wounded. He said Howell did what police train people to do in active shooter situations.

“You’re either going to run, you’re going to hide and shield, or you’re going to take the fight to the assailant. Having no place to run and hide, he did the last. But for his work, the assailant may not have been disarmed,” Putney said. “Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process. But his sacrifice saved lives.”

The father of Howell’s longtime girlfriend said news that he tackled the shooter wasn’t surprising. Kevin Westmoreland, whose daughter Lauren dated Howell for nearly six years, said Howell was athletic and compassionate — and would have been a good firefighter or paramedic.

“If Lauren was with Riley, he would step in front of a train for her if he had to,” Westmoreland said. “I didn’t realize it might come to that for somebody else.”

The motive wasn’t immediately clear. Suspect Trystan Andrew Terrell had been enrolled at the school but withdrew during the current semester, UNC-Charlotte spokeswoman Buffy Stephens said. Campus Police Chief Jeff Baker said Terrell had not appeared on their radar as a potential threat.

“I just went into a classroom and shot the guys,” Terrell told reporters Tuesday as officers led him in handcuffs into a law enforcement building.

Terrell, 22, was charged with two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder and other charges.

Putney said the suspect didn’t appear to target any particular person but did deliberately pick the building where it happened. He wouldn’t elaborate on why. Authorities said the anthropology class was fairly large, without being specific about how many students were present. Putney said the handgun used in the shooting was purchased legally.

Terrell is under observation in police custody, and his father and attorney haven’t been allowed to speak to him, his grandfather Paul Rold said Wednesday.

“His dad hasn’t a clue about what happened, or why it happened,” said Rold, of Arlington, Texas.

Terrell was on the autism spectrum but was “clever as can be” and bright enough to learn foreign languages, Rold said. He said his grandson wasn’t very social.

Rold said the Charlotte campus shooting is the latest in a long line of mass shootings that won’t end until laws reduce the volume of guns readily available.

“It’s unfortunate that in our society it can be so easily perpetrated. He has no background in guns or gun collecting, gun interest,” he said. “And how, in a short period of time, he was able to secure these weapons —legally, illegally, however— is the problem until Congress does something. If Sandy Hook, if Las Vegas, if Florida and these multiple incidents like yesterday can’t get them to move, if they’re more interested in reelection than the value of human life, this thing will continue.”

A campus vigil for the victims was planned for Wednesday evening. In a news release, UNC-Charlotte said all the victims were students, five from North Carolina and one international. Howell, of Waynesville, and Ellis R. Parlier, 19 of Midland, were killed in the attack. Those injured were Sean Dehart, 20, and Drew Pescaro, 19, both of Apex; Emily Houpt, 23, of Charlotte; and Rami Alramadhan, 20, of Saihat, Saudia Arabia.

After the shooting, students and faculty scrambled to find safe spaces on the campus of nearly 30,000 students, enduring a lengthy lockdown.

In a class a few rooms away from where the shooting happened, Krysta Dean was about to present a senior research project when she heard someone scream “shooter.” The anthropology major huddled behind a table with her classmates.

“The only thing that was going through my head was, one, I could very well die today. … I was mentally preparing myself for what it would be like to get shot and just kind of bracing myself for if it did happen,” she said.

Dean didn’t sleep much Tuesday night because she couldn’t get the noises out of her head. Now, she says she feels guilty for surviving.

“When I was sitting there on the floor, thinking that I might get a bullet in my head, my biggest fear was somebody’s reality. And there are parents that are never going to be able to hug their children again,” she said.

____

Associated Press writers Martha Waggoner and Emery Dalesio in Raleigh and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Send it to the KSL NewsRadio team here.

AP

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 4: A view of the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday morning January 4, 2024 in...

MARK SHERMAN

Supreme Court again confronts the issue of abortion, this time over access to widely used pill

Two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and cleared the way for bans or severe restrictions on abortion in many Republican-led states, abortion opponents on Tuesday will ask the high court to ratify a ruling from a conservative federal appeals court that would limit access to the medication mifepristone, which was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States last year.

2 days ago

File - The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, USA, Oct. 14, 2022. Instagram has star...

Associated Press

New Instagram feature limits display of political content

Instagram has started an automatic clamp down on the amount of political content appearing in its users' feeds.

3 days ago

ghost army Congressional gold medal ceremony...

JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press

Ghost Army members who staged secret WWII battlefield deceptions awarded Congressional Gold Medal

Three of the seven known surviving members attended the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

7 days ago

Brigham Young Cougars center Aly Khalifa (50) shoots against the UCF Knights at the Marriott Center...

DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer

BYU’s Aly Khalifa heads into March Madness without food or water while observing Ramadan

It is a fast Khalifa is embarking on willingly, yet one that carries with it unusual challenges during the NCAA Tournament.

7 days ago

A JetBlue airplane is seen, March 16, 2017, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York....

The Associated Press 

JetBlue will drop some cities and reduce LA flights to focus on more profitable routes

JetBlue Airways will end service at several cities and reduce flying out of Los Angeles in a move to focus on stronger markets.

8 days ago

Two shades of purple tulips combine with a spring garden of emerging red-leafed lettuce. (Netherlan...

Mike Corder

AI robots are spotting sick tulips in Dutch bulb fields

As part of efforts to tackle the virus, there are 45 robots patrolling tulip fields across the Netherlands as the weather warms up.

8 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Mother and cute toddler child in a little fancy wooden cottage, reading a book, drinking tea and en...

Visit Bear Lake

How to find the best winter lodging in Bear Lake, Utah

Winter lodging in Bear Lake can be more limited than in the summer, but with some careful planning you can easily book your next winter trip.

Happy family in winter clothing at the ski resort, winter time, watching at mountains in front of t...

Visit Bear Lake

Ski more for less: Affordable ski resorts near Bear Lake, Utah

Plan your perfect ski getaway in Bear Lake this winter, with pristine slopes, affordable tickets, and breathtaking scenery.

front of the Butch Cassidy museum with a man in a cowboy hat standing in the doorway...

Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau

Looking Back: The History of Bear Lake

The history of Bear Lake is full of fascinating stories. At over 250,000 years old, the lake has seen generations of people visit its shores.

silhouette of a family looking over a lake with a bird in the top corner flying...

Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau

8 Fun Activities To Do in Bear Lake Without Getting in the Water

Bear Lake offers plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy without having to get in the water. Catch 8 of our favorite activities.

Wellsville Mountains in the spring with a pond in the foreground...

Wasatch Property Management

Advantages of Renting Over Owning a Home

Renting allows you to enjoy luxury amenities and low maintenance without the long-term commitment and responsibilities of owning a home.

Clouds over a red rock vista in Hurricane, Utah...

Wasatch Property Management

Why Southern Utah is a Retirement Paradise

Retirement in southern Utah offers plenty of cultural and recreational opportunities. Find out all that this region has to offer.

Slain student hailed as hero for confronting campus gunman