Jan. 9, 2023—Thanks to good samaritan Pedro Perez, the only casualty in a struggle between a police officer and an armed suspect was Perez's pickup truck, which is being covered by a local body shop as a thank you from the Springfield, Massachusetts, community.
According to a report from Western Mass News, Perez was driving down the road when he saw a Springfield police officer in a physical altercation with a suspect. Perez and the officer were able to subdue the man, who was suspected of having just robbed a cell phone store, but not before he gained control of the officer's weapon and fired a few shots. One of those hit Perez's truck, and another went through his own hand, the only injury in the scuffle.
"My first reaction was jump out my truck and help out," Perez said in a news conference. "I didn't think about the consequences, I didn't think about what could happen, what if."
Perez was hailed as a hero by Springfield mayor Domenic Sarno. As for Perez's truck, that's being taken care of by Mastroianni Auto Body as a thank you for the actions Perez took.
"We've very happy to be of assistance to Mr. Perez," said shop owner Jack Mastroianni. "We all wonder how we would react in a situation like that and fortunately he was there and reacted in the right way. We're very thankful."