Bryon Snyder saved a woman from assault, Topeka, Kansas, June 30, 2014. A 44-year-old woman ran toward a convenience store in an attempt to escape her ex-boyfriend, who, armed with a handgun, had abducted and threatened her. The assailant followed her. Snyder, 36, computer application analyst, was entering the store when he saw the woman approach, shouting for help. He held the door for her, and she ran into the store and locked herself in the store’s office. From inside the store, Snyder then saw the assailant approach, and he remained at the door and held it shut against the assailant. After a brief verbal exchange with Snyder, the assailant produced his gun and at point-blank range fired into the glass door, the shot striking Snyder in his right hand and torso. Snyder fell to the floor. Two men in the store were in a bullet-resistant cashier’s enclosure, and the assailant, entering the store, demanded of them and Snyder to know the woman’s location. He then fired two shots at the enclosure and threatened to shoot Snyder again if the men did not cooperate. As the assailant searched the store, Snyder crawled through the front door and shouted for help, attracting the attention of those who then aided him. The assailant exited through the front door shortly and fled the scene, but he was later apprehended by police. The woman was not injured. Snyder was hospitalized eight days for treatment, including surgery, of his injuries, including to his right thumb, which was permanently damaged.
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