Harrison Keegan

HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Katie Claxton said she was afraid for her life Sunday night when she was approached by a man wielding a large knife.

The Springfield woman said she cringes to think what might have happened if her husband hadn't pointed a gun at the man and scared him off.

"Our Second Amendment right to carry is what saved our lives," Claxton said. "If we didn't have our right to carry, I feel like we wouldn't be here today."

Claxton said she and her family stopped to get gas at the Rapid Roberts on Sunshine Street just west of Highway 65 at about 8 p.m. Sunday when a man approached their car acting strange.

Claxton said she was in the vehicle with her four young children while her husband was pumping the gas.

Claxton said she reached over to try to lock the doors as the man approached, but she accidentally rolled down the window. Claxton said the man opened the door, leaned into the car and brandished a long knife.

Claxton said she yelled for her husband, Matt, to get his gun, and the man then began to leave.

"He said 'You're lucky he has a gun,'" Claxton said. "And then he shut the door and started to back away."

Claxton said her husband pointed his Beretta handgun at the man and called 911 as the man slowly walked away.

The family then began following the man in their vehicle as he walked down Sunshine Street.

Claxton said the man tried unsuccessfully to get into some cars that were waiting at a nearby intersection, and police officers then arrived and arrested the man.

Springfield Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Cox confirmed Claxton's account is consistent with the police report that was presented to prosecutors on Monday afternoon.

Claxton said the officers were "amazing," but she is happy her husband was able to protect her family until police arrived.

"You don't go out looking for trouble," Claxton said. "But if trouble comes knocking, you're there to answer."

Police say they arrested David Middleton, 42, in connection with the incident. He has been charged with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

According to the probable cause statement, Middleton told police he was paranoid and believed the vehicles in the Rapid Roberts parking lot were sent by his cousin to do surveillance on him. He allegedly said he leaned into the Claxtons' vehicle to tell them to stop following him.

Middleton said the reason he tried to get into other cars on Sunshine Street was to get help because he was concerned about having a gun pointed at him, according to the statement.

Claxton posted about the incident on her Facebook page. As of 8 p.m. on Monday, the post had been shared more than 6,700 times.

Claxton said she doesn't enjoy all of the attention, but she wanted to alert people about the incident in case the suspect is released from the Greene County Jail before charges were filed.

Claxton said her four children, all younger than 8, have struggled to comprehend what happened Sunday night, but she is just glad they were not harmed.

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