Southern California security guard hailed hero for sacrificing life to save roller rink packed with New Year’s Eve revelers
Richard Williamson, a 48-year-old security firm owner known as 'Big Will,' was gunned down protecting Cal Skate in Grand Terrace, Calif., early Thursday, a witness said. The killers remain on the loose after they opened fire at an event with some 200 people, including many children, in attendance.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, January 2, 2015, 1:21 PM
Updated: Friday, January 2, 2015, 3:29 PM
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Richard (Big Will) Williamson, 48, was killed when shooting broke out at the packed roller rink early New Year's Day in Grand Terrace, Calif.
A Southern California security guard is being hailed a hero after he gave his life defending a roller rink packed with teen revelers celebrating the New Year.
Richard (Big Will) Williamson, 48, was gunned down around 2 a.m. outside Cal Skate in Grand Terrace, Calif., when shooting broke out early New Year’s Day.
"He saved a bunch of kids and families, no doubt in my mind," big rig trucker Michael Marcoly, who was parked in the lot when the shooting broke out, told KNBC-TV.
The suspects in the murder, which ended with a second security guard wounded and another man shot, remain on the lam, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
The skate palace had been hosting an “All-Night Skate NYE 2015 Glow Party” and some 200 people, including many children, were attending the festivities, which were expected to go on until 7 a.m.
"At first, I thought it was just people celebrating the New Year, firing guns," Marcoly told the NBC affiliate. "Then, when it hit my truck, it rocked my truck."
Marcoly said Williamson was able to pull out his own weapon and return fire before he was killed in a hail of bullets.
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Cops have yet to release a motive in the slaying and are searching for the suspects.
Williamson, known affectionately as “Big Will,” owned Big Will’s Security Services, a company providing training and security based in nearby Riverside, Calif.
Friends, family and former colleague took to the company Facebook page to mourn the loss of the “good man gone too soon.”
“Big Will was a good friend of myself and my school,” wrote Jason Cooke. “He was a big man with an even bigger heart. He will be missed by more than you could ever know. He would help out people when no one else would. We need more people like him in this world.”
The skating rink has closed though the parking lot was opened late Thursday to allow attendees to come pick up their cars left behind as police investigated the shooting.
“Our prayers are with the officer who was involved and those who witnessed this tragic event,” the rink wrote in a statement.
