In the ongoing battle to maintain law and order, it’s often those who wear the badge who step into perilous situations to protect citizens. This bravery was exemplified by off duty Agent Matthew Murray of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On the night of December 27th, Murray’s courage was on full display as he attempted to deescalate a violent altercation outside a bowling alley in Riverview, Florida, which tragically resulted in his permanent paralysis.
JUST IN: Off-duty ATF agent paralyzed after being shot in the neck trying to stop a fight while leaving a bowling alley with his family 'WE DON'T GIVE A F-CK ABOUT YOUR KIDS'
18-year-old Christopher Smith was arrested seven hours after the shooting and faces charges of attempted… pic.twitter.com/55HrHuYHEA
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Western Journal reports:
Murray, along with his wife, children, and a few family friends, had just walked outside the building when they noticed two men and a woman fighting.
Murray stepped in to break it up, identifying himself as law enforcement.
“It was automatically people trying to start a fight and my husband trying to deescalate it right from the start,” testified Murray’s wife, Courtney Murray. “Right as we walked out the door. It’s like we walked into an ambush almost.”
“He was telling them just to go home,” she continued. “He said ‘you guys just need to leave.’ He said ‘we have kids,’” according to the Tampa Bay Times.
She reported also hearing someone say, “I don’t give a f**k about your kids.”
Christopher Smith, the 18-year-old who allegedly shot Murray, claimed to investigators that the agent at some point had hit him in the shoulder.
“(Smith) stated that he blacked out and shot (Murray) once,” Det. Keaton Bruce of Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office testified at the hearing.
Police arrested Smith at a nearby home hours after the incident but have still not located the firearm.
Despite claiming self-defense, Smith’s history or lack thereof could not sway the judge from denying bond. Meanwhile, Agent Murray’s heroism remains overshadowed by his current battle with paralysis in intensive care.