We are learning more about a man killed at an Arkansas Walmart while trying to talk down a man with a gun.
The incident happened Sunday night in the town of Trumann. Police say Robert Highfill was shot while trying to help a woman whose ex-husband was threatening her.
His friends say the actions he took at this Walmart made him a hero in their eyes. While his life is gone, they say he may be responsible for saving another.
“Robert was just a hard worker and he was a good truck driver,” says Rickey Bishop.
Rickey Bishop can’t believe what Trumann Police say happened to his good friend Robert Highfill.
“Well, it was a shock,” says Bishop.
Police had been called to the Walmart Sunday night, in reference to a man threatening a woman with a gun. When officers arrived, they say they found 22-year-old Gabriel Urrabazo with a gun to his 21-year-old ex-wife’s head.
Authorities say Urrabazo was holding her and threatening her when Highfill walked up to them and tried to talk Urrabazo into putting his weapon down.
“He thought he could diffuse the situation,” says Bishop.
Instead, police say Urrabazo shot Highfill several times, killing him.
“It ended tragically,” says Bishop.
Bishop says the husband and father of three wasn’t alone.
“The saddest part is that his little girl, Kylie, she was with him… She is about 8-years-old,” says Bishop. “It’s really been a sad situation for the family.”
He says Highfill knew the woman’s family, a woman who survived the night, Bishop says possibly because of one courageous man.
“He possibly saved the girl from being shot in the head,” says Bishop. “He died being a hero, and that was just the way he was.”
Authorities say Urrabazo was in a standoff with Police for about an hour and a half before he was finally arrested. His bond is set at $500,000.
Trumann Police believe Highfill’s actions may very well have saved the woman’s life. However, they say he put himself in harm’s way, and wish officers could have defused the situation themselves.
“It just seems like from Mr. Highfill’s posture that he was committed, he was going to intervene,” says Chief Chad Henson. “We wish that he would have listened to us, we wish that we were closer and could have stopped him.”
Police say around 70 people were inside the Walmart during the time of the shooting. All of them have been accounted for.
