The son of Henryettans John and Wanda Howell is being called a hero for his actions in a Lenexa, Kansas Costco Sunday.
Michael Howell is a captain with the Kansas City, Kans., police department. He was in the store Sunday when a man entered the store while holding a handgun.
Howell is a 22-year veteran with the police department. According to Johnson County investigators, he confronted 58-year-old Ronald Hunt, who had been yelling at customers and making threats. The store was packed with customers, many of who fled to the back of the store. Witnesses said they heard five or six gunshots. Howell, who was off duty at the time, confronted the individual and fired several shots, killing him at the scene.
Lenexa Police Capt. Wade Borchers said there was no indication what Hunt’s intentions were, “but before anything really bad could happen, he was stopped. Thankfully, there was an off-duty officer inside the store. And nobody got hurt.”
Shoppers in the store expressed their appreciation for the actions taken by Howell. "Thank God that police officer was there," Kelli Lassman said. "Thank God that nobody was hurt. I know that him being not in uniform, there could’ve been some ramifications. But thank God that he did what he was supposed to do and everybody was safe and it wasn’t a worse situation than it was."