"I'm Feeling a Little Vulnerable"
A bank customer describes his face-to-face encounter with a gunman
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Richard Camp wasn't about to wait around and find out whether the screaming man with two guns and lots of ammunition was in a good mood.
So he wrestled the would-be bank robber to the ground Friday at Farmers and Merchants Bank on Bellflower Boulevard. He described the heroic act to the Press-Telegram.
"'Ok, what have I seen on the movies? Back off, don't threaten the guy,'" Camp told the Press-Telegram. "I'm on an island. I'm feeling a little vulnerable, a little threatened. The guy's doing a lot of cussing and acting erratic."
Camp was just a few feet from the gumman when the man began shouting at him. The suspect, identified in court papers as 51-year-old Robert Gordon Lockwood, of Long Beach, was about to jump over the counter.
When he turned his back, Camp made his move.
"That's when I said, I'd rather take my chance with giving it a go than hoping that he feels nice and doesn't shoot me," Camp told the newspaper.
Authorities said the suspect opened fire and emptied one gun as the two fell to the ground. Camp seized the other gun as other bank customers helped him subdue the man, according to court documents.
After police arrived, Camp realized he had been struck by a bullet in the leg. The Press-Telegram reported that doctors told Camp some coins and a key chain in his pocket probably kept the bullet from hitting his femoral artery.
