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Man who pursued gunman: ‘Right thing to do’

Posted at 12:37 AM, Nov 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-06 00:37:08-05

(AP) — A man who says he pursued the gunman in a Texas church shooting says he was acting on instinct to try to prevent the suspect from escaping.

Johnnie Langendorff says in an interview with KSAT television that he was driving past the church Sunday as the shooting happened and he saw the gunman exchanging fire with a member of the community.

He says the member of the community asked for help and got into Langendorff’s truck. They took off at high speed in pursuit of the gunman on a nearby highway as police were going in the opposite direction toward the church.

Langendorff says the gunman eventually lost control of his vehicle and crashed. He says the member of the community walked up to the vehicle with his gun drawn and the suspect did not move. The community member stood guard over the gunman until police arrived 5 to 7 minutes later.

Langendorff says: “I was strictly just acting on what’s the right thing to do.”

The shooting left 26 people dead and about 20 wounded.