A retired Marine lost his life in Philadelphia’s Olney section after his family says he tried to help during an attempted robbery.
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According to CBS Philadelphia, the victim is identified as 46-year-old Howard White, a disabled veteran. White’s cousin Michelle Gordon described him as a hero who had tried to stop a robbery at the Green Parrot Bar, but ended up dead instead.
“This is very hard for me and my family, because after serving your country and then come home to get shot down like a dog? It’s very hurtful and very painful,” Gordon said.
The news station notes that just before 1 a.m. Thursday, officers patrolling the area heard arguing and gunshots. They found White lying in the street with gunshot wounds to his head and torso. The veteran was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers saw two men fleeing the scene and stopped one of the men, who was holding two guns. That man turned out to be a friend of White’s, who told officers about the suspect.
The shooting suspect ended up breaking into a nearby home before getting into a fight with a father and son in the residence. The duo were able to disarm the suspect and hold him until police arrived.
White’s best friend, Dwayne Peel, said that the fallen hero was a career military man who was disabled in an explosion during his service.
“He would give the shirt off his back,” Peel said, adding that his friend had plans to go to Korea for work. “He was not what you would call a regular hero; he was an American hero.”
Police recovered the gun that was used in the deadly shooting, along with the two guns that the victim’s friend had on him. The incident remains under investigation.
Read more at CBS Philadelphia.
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