The Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office has recognized an outstanding member of the local community and employee of Chick-Fil-A after he tackled to the ground and subdued a likely carjacker while onlookers watched.
A now-viral video with over 3 million views captured the incident from a nearby car in the parking lot at a Fort Walton Beach, FL Chick-Fil-A which showed the Chick-Fil-A employee tackling a carjacker to the ground and subduing him in a headlock waiting for law enforcement to arrive.
In reference to the FWB Chick-fil-A employee who ran to help a woman with a baby who was being carjacked, we want to say a sincere thank you to Ms. Kelner for providing video of a portion of the encounter. (see prior post). A major shout-out to this young man for his courage! pic.twitter.com/2Lcwe46azv
— OkaloosaSheriff (@OCSOALERTS) September 14, 2022
Advertisement
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident and charged the assailant with battery and carjacking with a weapon. The statement from sheriff’s office went on to say the man tried to steal the car from a woman holding a baby.
“The victim was getting the infant out of her car … when she says [the man] approached her wielding a stick and demanding her keys,” the statement said. “He then grabbed the keys from the waistband of her pants, opened her car door, and got inside.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the Chick-Fil-A employee intervened after the woman began screaming for help. The Chick-Fil-A employee was punched by the assailant at which point he tackled him to the ground. Thankfully the employee was not seriously injured during the encounter.
The sheriff’s office twitter account thanked the person who recorded the encounter and the brave employee who stopped a serious crime. “A major shout-out to this young man for his courage!” the Tweet went on to say.
The heroic employee’s name is Mykel Gordon.
In an interview with CNN, the local Chick-Fil-A operator said “I’m grateful for my amazing Team Member, Mykel Gordon, who so selflessly jumped in to intervene and help our Guests. I couldn’t be prouder of his incredible act of care.”