- The unidentified woman shot and killed Dennis Butler on Wednesday in Charleston, West Virginia
- He showed up to a graduation party at the Vista View Apartment Complex
- Butler, a 37-year-old convicted felon, had an ‘AR-style assault rifle’
- It’s unclear what his motive was or if he even knew anyone at the event
- He started shooting then the woman pulled her gun out, according to police
- The incident went largely unnoticed in the wave of stories about Uvalde in Texas where a gunman slaughtered 19 kids and two teachers
- Now, the issue of gun reform is being ferociously debated politically
A West Virginia woman is being hailed a hero for using her legally-owned pistol to shoot and kill a criminal armed with an AR-15 after he opened fire at a graduation party last week.
The woman has not been named by police and she has not come forward to identify herself since the incident on Wednesday, just a day after the massacre in Uvalde.
The gunman was Dennis Butler, a 37-year-old criminal who had already been cautioned for speeding near children when he drove to the graduation party that was being held outside at the Vista View Apartment Complex in Charleston, West Virginia.
He had been told to stop driving so quickly while children were nearby. He drove away then returned with an AR-style assault rifle and opened fire.
The woman was among guests at the outdoor party. When she saw Butler open fire, she immediately pulled out her weapon and shot at him.
It’s unclear exactly how many people were there but police described it as a ‘crowd’.
Miraculously, no one was injured.
The woman then pulled her legally-owned gun out of her purse and shot and killed him. At a press conference on Thursday, Charleston Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett praised the woman as a hero.
‘Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,’ he said.