John Parks

John Parks rescued Bennett Roth from assault, Washington, D.C., January 11, 2024. At night, Roth, 69, was walking on a sidewalk along a six-lane street when a vehicle stopped, multiple people wearing ski masks and dark clothing exited, and Roth saw one pointing a handgun at him as Roth backed up and was shoved to the ground. Ordered at gunpoint not to move, Roth shouted for help, alarming Parks, 26, a housing development manager, who was across the street with some friends as he saw the start of the assault and two assailants hovering over Roth. Entering the street and darting around traffic as he approached the scene, Parks, who was not armed, shouted for the assailants to get away from Roth, who remained on the ground. Once he had reached the opposite side of the street, Parks saw that the two assailants had handguns pointed at Roth. As he remained at the scene, the assailants then pointed their guns at Parks, who faced them and continued to shout and advance toward Roth while the assailants backed away and returned to the vehicle. The vehicle then sped away from the scene. Responding police are investigating the incident. Roth had scratches and scrapes, but recovered. Parks was not injured.