When Columbus police and firefighters got a call about a shooting victim, they didn’t know they’d be saving a friend.
Deonn Carter, 31, was shot and robbed outside his home Tuesday when he was getting the mail, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported. Carter works at a Piggly Wiggly as a bagger and stock person, where he greeted firefighters and police officers who shopped there frequently.
His mother, Suzette Ragland, said Carter always wanted to be a police officer, but his autism prevented that from happening. Nonetheless, Carter made it a point to befriend public safety officials.
“He calls up to the station about once a week and just talks to everybody,” Lt. Jeremy Lawrence told the newspaper. “He just asks how we’re doing and wants to find out what we’re up to.”
Police escorted Carter’s ambulance to the hospital, Ragland told the newspaper. Carter had surgery Tuesday, but was listed in stable condition Wednesday. After his surgery, officers greeted him with cards, candy and balloons. He is scheduled to have another surgery Friday, according to the news station.
“We give everybody the same patient care,” Lawrence said. “But you could tell it was more personal than a lot of the calls that we go on.”
Lawrence said he doesn’t know why anyone would shoot someone who has been so kind to so many people.
“Deonn is such a great guy,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer. “He never would hurt anybody. He’s always been just nice, keeping to himself. I just don’t know how anybody could be that cold to do something to somebody like Deonn.”
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