Comedian Hailed As Hero In Ala. Killings

(AP)  Many around Samson knew Bruce Maloy as their town's comedian, a goodhearted, wiry little jokester who was always boasting about hitting it big someday.

In life, he never really got the spotlight he was seeking. But in the days following a massacre that shattered their small Alabama community, some have dropped the comedian label and replaced it with another: Hero.

On Friday, witnesses and authorities said Maloy, the 10th and final victim of Tuesday's shooting rampage by Michael McLendon, single-handedly tried to end the violence with his beat-up old pickup truck.

With gunshots still echoing through downtown Samson and the killer headed toward a bigger city 12 miles away, Maloy chased McLendon's dark red Mitsubishi out of town, ramming the vehicle at least once.

Maloy slowed down the killer briefly, and he may have given police and state troopers time to catch up to McLendon, said Geneva County Chief Deputy Tony Helms. But it cost him his life.

"There's a hero in all of this that nobody is talking about, and that's Bruce Maloy," said Jim Stromenger, a dispatcher with the Samson Police Department.

McLendon shot the 51-year-old welder to death at a lonesome spot on Alabama 52 before eluding police in Geneva and killing himself with a single gunshot to the head at a former workplace, Reliable Products.

"Whether Bruce was following him in an attempt to find out where he went, stop him, I don't know. But I think he deserves recognition for what he did," said Helms.

Helms was one of two officers involved in a dizzying, final shootout with McLendon at Reliable Products, where the killer ran inside and killed himself.

A divorced father with three grown children, Maloy lived in an old trailer off a dirt road on the outskirts of town. Christmas lights still hang from the side.

Maloy's youngest child, 19-year-old Eva Maloy, helped his ex-wife and friends gather a few items from his home Friday as others made funeral arrangements. She's not exactly sure what her father did that day, but the idea of him giving his life to help others wasn't surprising.

"It sounds like him," said Maloy.

Initial reports depicted Maloy as the final victim of random gunshots sprayed by McLendon after he killed his mother, four more relatives and four others in the Alabama's worst mass killing. A truer picture emerged when investigators spoke with witnesses, piecing together details of McLendon's 24-mile path of death, Helms said.

Maloy was stopped at a traffic light on Main Street in Samson, headed west toward his home. Shots rang out to his left at the Big Little Store, and McLendon pulled out of the parking lot going east toward Geneva.

Two workers at Samson Feed and Seed saw Maloy whip his ragged old Isuzu pickup to the left, doing a U-turn and gunning it as he took off after McLendon.

With Maloy behind him, McLendon shot at a hardware store and a car stopped at a red light and kept going. Within seconds, Craig Harrison saw both vehicles speed past his business.

"The car came by and Bruce was right behind him. He wasn't two car lengths away from him," said Harrison, who formerly employed Maloy at Craig's Cycle and Marine. Harrison heard two more shots and believes McLendon was trying to get Maloy off his tail.

Maloy's chase ended 2.4 miles from where it began. Damage to the front of Maloy's truck indicates he rammed McLendon at least once, and the Mitsubishi had damage to its rear, although a police car could have done that.

Near a pipe plant just inside the city limits, McLendon fired at least three shots at Maloy after a collision. Two bullets hit metal, a third went through the windshield and struck Maloy.

Some people didn't like being around Maloy because he was such a big talker, Harrison said. He could be a little obnoxious with his joking and boasting.

But Samson now knows him as someone much different.

"He needs some recognition for what he did," said Harrison. "It was something he always wanted, and now the old boy won't see it."

[toolmangler-2009]

Hero?????? for what?
Posted by at 5:56 PM : Mar 14, 2009



Risking his life to protect someone he didn't know when he could have done like some others and hidden.

[stupidrules3]

DGU stats are estimates and count all reported and unreported DGUs.
Posted by elcantante1 at 6:00 PM : Mar 14, 2009

How do you estimate or count unreported DGUs?????????
I would bet that you and I would do it differently.

[gunownerdan]

elcantante1 thinks unarmed criminals are not dangerous. elcantante1 seems like the kind of person who would never think of fighting back if attacked and it would likely be quite easy for any dangerous criminal to beat elcantante1 to death with their bare hands or even a roll of quarters.
During the revolutionary war, there were some who supported King George and his attempt to ban and confiscate guns from all the colonists. elcantante1 would have most certainly been one of those people.

[gunownerdan]

I have noticed over the years that people who want to ban guns and blame guns for all the problems in the world today often will rely on falsehoods, stereotypes, false accusations, made-up statistics, and even insults. It really is sad that these people can be so bigoted and hateful.

[sndkzyaa]

So rare that most police officers retire without ever using their guns to stop a crime...and the chase crooks for a living!~
Posted by elcantante1 at 6:00 PM : Mar 14, 2009

So, then doesn't it make sense that it's even MORE rare for an ordinary citizen to ever use a gun to stop a crime?

Wouldn't that be WHY so few criminals get killed by homeowners????

So, by counting only the dead criminals, it's a cynical ploy to downplay the deterrent effect of gun ownership.

Think about this - how many people get mugged at a shooting range?

Now tell me again how guns don't reduce crime....LOL

[sndkzyaa]

This is why the police tell you DO NOT TAKE THE LAW INTO YOUR OWN HANDS.
Posted by obiden08 at 1:18 PM : Mar 14, 2009

SOME police tell you that.

Others will tell you that while a crime is occurring, YOU are there, not the police.

By the time the police arrive, the crime is over with and the criminal is long gone.

Either you lived or you died. All the police do is clean up the aftermath.

That's why most police officers tell you it makes more sense for YOU to be armed than the police.

Because YOU are there, not the police.

[sndkzyaa]

The Department of Justice reports just 82,000 defensive gun uses
Posted by elcantante1 at 5:57 PM : Mar 14, 2009

What is a "gun use?"

Are you saying that unless the gun is fired, it doesn't count?

Your statistics are bogus.

You can't possibly account for all the crimes that were never even attempted because the crook knew the homeowner had a gun in the house.

Actual confrontations between homeowners and intruders are extremely rare, because most intruders are smart enough not to break in while somebody is home.

The problem is, often it's hard to tell if anybody's home. So if the intruder knows the homeowner is also a gun owner, the intruder will take a pass on that house out of fear of discovering an armed homeowner in a house that appeared unoccupied.

By counting only "gun use," it's just another cynical ploy to avoid counting the realities of crime prevention.

[elcantante1]

caligula said "Yes, and that statistic came from where? Handgun Control International? The Brady Group?"

That data came from the Department of Justice. Then he said:

"According to the NRA for every person killed by another person with a gun (note unlike the organizations above they don't include suicides and police shootings) another 100 crimes are averted because the prospective victim was armed."

"LOL" So you accuse me of having biased sources, which is not true, and then you bring that LIE from the NRA?

[elcantante1]

sndkzyaa said "The statistics don't count the crimes that were prevented unless the criminal got killed. If the criminal doesn't die, it doesn't count according to them."

That could not be more false. DGU stats are estimates and count all reported and unreported DGUs. DGUs are rare events. So rare that most police officers retire without ever using their guns to stop a crime...and the chase crooks for a living!~

[elcantante1]

caligula1 said "According to the NRA for every person killed by another person with a gun (note unlike the organizations above they don't include suicides and police shootings) another 100 crimes are averted because the prospective victim was armed."

That's a lie from the NRA. The Department of Justice reports just 82,000 defensive gun uses mostly against unarmed criminals. We have 30,000 gun-related deaths. That is a ratio of less than 3 crimes stopped for every death. But most of those crimes stopped are against unarmed criminals. The FBI Crime Report narrative said that in many cases the crimes could have been stopped without the guns as well since the criminals were unarmed. Notice that the NRA doesn't mention lives saved with guns. Why? Because for every 120 killed with guns just ONE is saved.