In a tragic incident at Schemengees Bar and Grill in Lewiston, Maine, Joseph Walker, the bar's manager, lost his life while trying to stop a gunman.
His father, Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker, revealed that Joseph grabbed a butcher knife to confront the assailant.
"He was trying to prevent further loss of life when he was shot dead," said Leroy Walker according to CBS News.
Joseph was among at least eight people killed in the bar and one of 18 fatalities in a series of shootings in Lewiston. The suspected shooter remains at large.
A GoFundMe campaign set up by Joseph's family states that he was at the bar to enjoy a game of cornhole with friends and family.
The owners of Schemengees praised Joseph's courage, saying he could have escaped but chose to face the danger.
"He was a man who always put others first," they wrote on Facebook. Customers and his wife, Tracey Walker, also hailed him as a hero. "He changed my life for the better," Tracey wrote.
Joseph's father learned of his son's death nearly 14 hours after the incident. "If he were here, he would apologize for the other lives lost," Leroy Walker said, expressing sorrow for all the families affected.
