The father of Joseph Walker, the 56-year-old Maine bar manager who was killed in Wednesday’s mass shooting in Lewiston, has spoken out after his son’s tragic death, saying he “can’t hate” the man who killed his son.
During an emotional interview with CNN on Friday, Leroy Walker, a city councilman in Auburn, Maine, said he was “very proud” of his son, who tried to stop the gunman at Schemengees Bar and Grille before he was shot and killed.
“[He was] loved by many, loved by himself. And he would be happy to return to everyone. So I know he would do something like that to try to save lives and not let someone hurt the people he loved,” Leroy told CNN.
Joseph, or Joey as his father calls him, was killed along with 17 others Wednesday night during a shooting that happened at a restaurant and at Just-in-Time Recreation, located four miles away. The suspect, Robert Card, 40, was later found dead Friday, according to Lewiston Police Chief David St. To Pierre. Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said Card died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 13 people were also injured in the mass shooting.
During an interview with CNN, host Poppy Harlow brought up Leroy’s comment about not hating the man who killed his son. Earlier this week, Leroy told Scripps News about the man who killed his son, “I don’t hate this guy at all. This guy wasn’t born to do what he did. Something is wrong.”
Harlow then asked Leroy how he could feel that way despite his own sadness.
“You’ve got to get that part of it out, you’ve got to get it out of your mind,” Leroy said. “You have to let the law do what it needs to do. If that person was in his right mind at the time, I believe he would have been a loving person like us. Something went wrong. I just can’t hate him myself. ”
Governor: 18 killed, 13 injured in Maine mass shooting, search for suspects underway
Leroy, who became emotional during the interview, added that, ultimately, he “can’t hate this person” and that he was “taught differently than that. I hope so anyway.”
“I believe in the law and I must feel that way,” he said. “You can’t run around this world hating people. If you do, things like this will happen more and more.”
Leroy tearfully explained that hate “makes you crazy” and means “you’re going to hurt other people.” As he explained to CNN, he doesn’t “want anyone to hurt me, and I don’t want to hurt anyone either.”
“And I’m sure that man, whatever happened to him, I’m sure he wasn’t born to be a killer,” Leroy said. “And he has, I’m sure, a father and a mother who would never believe this would happen to him. So all I can say is, I’m sorry it happened to all of us, and I” I’m sorry it happened to him can happen. And God will win.”
“Hate will never bring my son back,” he added.
Harlow noted that Leroy had previously lost his daughter in a car accident 25 years ago and praised his “remarkable” ability to “still have such faith and such love in his heart.”
The scene of a mass shooting outside Schemengees Bar in Maine on October 26.
JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty
Leroy previously spoke to NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt about his son, whom he called “a great, great son, loving husband.” Joseph Walker also had two grandchildren, a stepson and “thousands of people who loved him,” his father said.
A GoFundMe has been created for Joseph’s family, and as of Saturday morning, more than $25,000 of the initial goal of $20,000 had been raised.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills shared the news of suspect Robert Card’s death during a press release Friday, where she expressed her “deep gratitude for their unwavering courage, determination and strength of spirit.”
“I’m relieved to know that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said. “Now is the time to heal.”
“Tonight, the city of Lewiston and the state of Maine begin to move forward on what will be a long and difficult road to recovery,” she added.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education