Damian Austin, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, was shopping at a Kroger in Savannah, Georgia on a Tuesday evening when he was halted in his tracks by a woman’s cries. It made the hairs on the back of his neck rise up since it wasn’t a regular shout, Austin said.
Several customers heard the cries, which were apparently coming from the restroom, and there was some uncertainty in the store for a few seconds. Then bystanders understood the unthinkable had just happened. The woman was reportedly sexually attacked in the grocery store restroom after a guy followed her inside, and the accused had fled the scene after running out of the bathroom.
That was all it took for the Marine veteran to take to the skies. A lady behind him simply yelled, ‘He raped that girl in the restroom,’ and once she said that, there was nothing else for him to do but run out the door after him, Austin recounted, which he did. In a circumstance when others might flee, the veteran Marine pursued the accused into the parking lot.
Austin ultimately apprehended the accused, subsequently named as Gregory Hathorne, 25, in the rear of a local Ace Hardware shop, where he ordered him to the ground and held him at gunpoint. The precise time Austin took Hathorne down was recorded on security footage.
He instructed him to raise his hands in the air. Damian Austin recounted, He cooperated and placed them up. He instructed him to get on the ground, and he tried to say something, and he told him, ‘Don’t say a word.’ As Austin held the man down, a woman assisted him by fetching a bag of huge zip ties from the store.
Man hailed a hero for taking down rape suspect outside a Georgia Krogers store that allows men and women to use the same bathrooms.
Posted by Eric Smaltz on Saturday, May 8, 2021
She entered the shop and came out with a pack of giant zip ties a minute later, and she picked out a few and walked over there, Austin explained. He continued sketching on him, making sure he didn’t move, he explained. Officers from the Chatham County Police Department arrived on the scene, handcuffed Gregory Hathorne, and took him into custody. He was detained and jailed at the Chatham County Detention Center on felony rape, felony abduction, and misdemeanor violence charges.
Austin has now been lauded as a hero for pursuing the rape accused. The Ace Hardware shop manager thanked Austin for his courage by providing him with a $100 store gift card, however Austin was quick to stress out that he didn’t do it for the recognition. Instead, Damian Austin had a single purpose in mind: he wanted to make his area safer.
Chief Jeff Hadley and Doris Williams, director of the Coastal Empire Rape Crisis Center, both praised Damian Austin for taking action instead of simply documenting the turmoil. They ‘re grateful to those folks; it took a lot of courage for them to do it. They see a large number of individuals standing around with their phones, filming stuff, but they never intervene, Chief Hadley remarked.
Doris Williams had similar comments, saying it’s a good thing onlookers stepped in. Because in this day and age, you have people who, when they see something, they record it, Williams explained. Instead of calling 911, Austin shown incredible fortitude, reminding any rape survivor that there is help available if and when they need it. Let’s hope that in any crisis, others would gather and respond to help a survivor, Williams added.
Damian Austin readily fulfilled his goal thanks to the Second Amendment. The suspected rapist fell to the ground as Austin pointed a gun at him, and Austin easily held him until police came. A suspected rapist was taken from the streets by a nice person with a pistol. It’s a heartbreaking story, but thankfully, it ends on a lighter note than it may have otherwise. Thanks to a brave Marine, the accused will face the consequences of his conduct instead of getting away with a horrific crime. Sir, you did an excellent job.
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