MORRISVILLE, Vt. (NewsNation) — A Morrisville bystander is now being hailed a hero after he wrestled a shotgun away from a suspect he spotted entering the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post last Thursday.
An urgent manhunt for Henry Lovell had been in place since Thursday evening after he exchanged gunfire with a Morristown police officer and escaped. Law enforcement agencies urged residents to shelter in place and avoid the area.
After entering the VFW, Lovell was confronted by a couple of men and bystander Dorick Tallman was able to get the gun away from him. Lovell was able to escape the encounter but without his gun.
When Tallman saw the shooter, he said his instincts kicked in and he was able to react.
“Wow, just instincts kicked in and I knew I needed to get the gun away from him to protect the other patrons and the VFW. I just happened to be at the right place and do what needed to be done,” Tallman said.
Tallman said he wasn’t worried for his own safety, especially since Lovell kept saying that the gun was jammed and that he needed to unjam it.
“I knew I couldn’t let him do that and I needed to get the gun away from him before he was able to do that,” he said.
At that moment, Tallman knew the gun was harmless, but that he still needed to get it away from the suspect before he could be successful in unjamming it.
There was a cornhole tournament taking place at the VFW, which happens every Thursday, at the time of the incident, Tallman said. He explained it was essential to de-escalate the situation.
When Lovell entered the bar, the bartender started hollering after a patron had said someone had entered the bar with a gun and a backpack.
“I was closest to the bar entrance from the dance hall where the cornhole takes place. I walked up and he was just getting to the doorway to walk into the dance hall and saw me, turned around and headed the other direction,” Tallman said.
Tallman followed the bartender and another man down the hall toward Lovell, where they cornered him. At the time, they asked him to hand over the gun.
Lovell was about to hand Tallman the gun when he changed his mind and told him he didn’t want to, Tallman said. At that point, Tallman placed his other hand on the gun and wrestled it out of Lovell’s hands.
“I really don’t see myself as a hero,” Tallman said. “I was just doing what needed to be done and trying to make sure nobody else got hurt.”
Lovell was apprehended on Sunday evening by a Vermont State Police trooper and Morristown Police Department officer in Hyde Park after the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department received a tip from the public that a man matching his description was seen in public, the Vermont State Police said on social media.
According to the Vermont State Police, Lovell was brought in for processing at the Morristown Police Department, where he will be jailed without bail on the charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, first-degree aggravated domestic assault, two counts of first-degree unlawful restraint, criminal threatening and violation of conditions of release.
