A Tucson man was the savior of a woman being assaulted by her boyfriend in a bank parking lot.
Detectives were able to determine Juan Carlos Velderrain, 32, was assaulting his girlfriend in the Wells Fargo Parking lot just before being shot dead. Once the girlfriend approached the bystander for help, they went into his car where Velderrain confronted them, police said. It was during this confrontation where the bystander pulled his handgun, shooting Velderrain.
Being aware of your surroundings is especially critical in a bank area. It is definitely a turn of events for one to find themselves in the middle of a domestic abuse situation here.
We do not know what was said during the verbal confrontation to the point of a handgun being pulled, but the bystander is already on high guard. If anything, hopefully, he exerted enough verbal defense to deescalate the situation. Velderrain was already assaulting his girlfriend in public, let alone in front of a bank.
Otherwise, the woman and arguably the bystander’s life were in direct threat, seeing as though the woman already sustained injuries. The bystander could have easily minded his business and left the situation, but he, fortunately, put his life on the line for an innocent citizen. Also, he was not arrested for the shooting, most likely inferring he was justified in this action. For now, detectives will forward the case for a review of possible charges.
