‘It was terrifying’: Richland Center mother starts discussion after man brings gun to vigil

Police explain man has right to do so

Madalyn O'Neill by Madalyn O'Neill

A Richland Center woman wants to start a conversation after what she considers a frightening situation at a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening.

The vigil, held outside the Richland County Courthouse, was meant to honor the victims of recent mass shootings across the country, but attendee Autumn Lent said it took an unexpected turn.

“It was terrifying, actually,” Lent said. “There was no compassion in that scene last night, and that’s what the world is lacking.”

Lent said the vigil wasn’t an anti-gun protest, but a man in a vehicle stopped at a stop sign and began yelling about the second amendment and then returned five minutes later with a gun.

“We were making it about the vigil, and he made it about himself,” she said. “Exactly what went through my head: We just made someone very angry. Now they’re here with their gun, and we don’t know what they’re capable of.”

She hid her 8-year-old son behind her.

“What went through my mind in 10 seconds was, this is probably what the people in the last two weeks in mass shootings experienced, someone walking toward them with a rifle,” Lent said. “They didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Those seconds didn’t last long. Police arrived in less than a minute.

“Most man with a gun calls are bad, and turn into bad situations all over the country these days,” acting police Chief Billy Jones said. “You just prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”

Lent said the man wasn’t violent, and Jones said it doesn’t appear he pointed his gun at anyone. After speaking with the man and learning he wasn’t a threat, officers explained to those at the vigil that the man had the constitutional right to be there with his gun, which Lent appreciates and understands.

“They did a very good job about that,” she said.

Jones hopes people will be mindful of how they exercise that right.

“If you’re going to go and protest or go and exercise your right to carry openly, just remember what kind of message you’re sending to everyone else,” Jones said. “The mindset of everybody is different and it’s almost scary that we all have to think about when’s the next thing going to happen?”

Jones said the officers resolved situation peacefully.

“I thought my officers did a great job educating both sides,” he said. “Both sides were very understanding.”

For Lent, it’s all about the approach.

“It’s about somehow changing things so everybody can feel safe and still have their constitutional rights,” she said. “Just be more compassionate for each other.”

Lent said she has reached out to the city’s mayor to begin the discussion of how those assembling in public can feel safe while protecting everyone’s constitutional rights.

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