Witness helps save employee’s life after shooting at Antioch auto shop
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – From dodging bullets to helping save a life, a man jumped in to help an employee of an Antioch auto shop who had been shot multiple times.
Metro police said a fight over service at Valvoline Instant Oil change on Bell Road Wednesday afternoon left one man dead and an employee injured.
Jonathan Rizzo was leaving a Mexican restaurant when he heard several shots fired.
“I heard I think five shots. I took cover behind my car for a second,” Rizzo told News 2.
That’s when he saw a Valvoline employee collapse in the grass.
“He said, ‘I’m shot; I’m shot.’ He kind of stumbled out from the building, dropped down to his knees in this brown spot here and I said, ‘It’s okay; lay down for a second; you are going to be okay. I took my shirt off. I wrapped it around his arm,” Rizzo said.
Rizzo didn’t think twice, ripping off his shirt and making a tourniquet out of it.
“There were a couple bullet wounds in his arm and it was right where you give blood, you know, so I pulled my shirt off, tourniquet around the top of his arm to stop the bleeding, put pressure there and I said, ‘Is there anywhere else?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, my hip.’ I saw a lot of blood there, too, so I pulled his belt tight and pushed down,” said Rizzo.
These are skills Rizzo said he learned as a Boy Scout, and he put them to use in a situation where seconds mattered.
“Luckily I got there fast, because I think it would have been tough for him man, if I didn’t get there then. He fell over and he was…I laid him down. He was going in shock and he was pretty… he was in rough shape. I was lucky just God put me in the right place at the right time,” Rizzo said.
He told News 2 he called 911 and stayed with the 22-year-old victim until first responders arrived.
“I should be humble, you know? I was just lucky to be here, but yeah it’s scary,” he said.
The employee was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds to his arm and hip, according to Metro police.
Authorities said the man who died has been identified as 33-year-old Larry Johnson Jr.
The investigation shows that he became agitated at the lack of immediate service, retrieved an air compressor hose, and started filling up his own tire. The Valvoline employee reportedly told the him he couldn’t do that and took back the air compressor hose. This led to an argument that soon escalated into the deadly shooting.
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According to police, the employee pushed the man into the driver’s seat of the Chrysler and walked away, but Johnson grabbed a pistol from the rear passenger floorboard and fired several rounds at the employee. In turn, the auto shop manager reportedly fired a shot at Johnson, hitting him in the head. Johnson died at the scene.
Police said no charges are being filed right now as the manager claims self-defense. Detectives and the District Attorney’s Office will continue to investigate.
The Valvoline remained closed Thursday.
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