A Buffalo security guard is being heralded as a hero after stopping a man from shooting people inside a methadone clinic with an assault weapon. Reynaldo Beckford has worked in security for more than 20 years, according to WKBW.
When 48-year-old Jeremy Griffin walked into the Hispanics United of Buffalo facility with an AR-15, Beckford sprang into action.
“When I turned from the corner of my eye, all I saw was the person and the rifle,” Beckford told WKBW. “That’s all I saw … I’d be lying to you if I were to say that I was not scared for my life. The first thing that flashed over my brain was my baby boy, who just turned 3 years old.”
As Beckford wrestled with Griffin outside the clinic, a pair of civilians helped tackle Griffin to the ground and took his weapon away from him.
Beckford also told the local outlet he doesn’t want to be labeled a hero because it’s his job to protect others.
District Attorney John Flynn said Griffin is facing multiple charges, and he applauded Beckford and the assisting civilians as “heroic.”
Beckford said he’s going to consider therapy after the encounter, while the clinic said it’s going to look into beefing up security.
The prevented attack at the clinic by Griffin, who appears to be White, comes approximately six months after the city’s mass shooting at a Tops grocery store in a predominately Black area of town by accused White shooter, Payton Gendron.
