December 1 was no ordinary day at work for Addy’s food truck owner David Poto, as while he was setting up his mobile food business before the town of Sanford, Maine, held its annual Christmas tree lighting event and “Holly Daze” parade, he saw a man using a knife to threaten motorists and decided to intervene.
Thinking quickly and jumping into action when he saw that the knife-wielding man was menacing the motorists, Poto headed over to the scene of the threats and confronted the armed man. The man didn’t take well to that, and instead of just backing off and going away, he threatened to kill Mr. Poto. The man reportedly said, “I’m going to kill you” and “I’m going to stab you.”
Unbeknownst to the man with the knife, Mr. Poto was armed with a firearm. So, not wanting to escalate the situation but also not wanting to leave the man to prey on the motorists or threaten his family, which was with him at the food truck, Mr. Poto first tried to get the man to calm down and sit down. The man would not do so, so Mr. Poto drew his firearm, a Glock pistol. That didn’t work either, so, his life in danger, Mr. Poto shot and killed the knife-wielding man.
Speaking to Fox News Digital about the incident and what it was like having to react to severe danger under trying circumstances, Mr. Poto said, “You always anticipate dealing with danger in a certain way, but you never know how you will react or how it would play out until you actually live it. It all happened so fast but in slow motion at the same time.”
Mr. Poto also spoke about what he was thinking during the incident, saying that though he didn’t want the situation to escalate, he also didn’t want to let the knife-wielding man get too close to his four daughters, who were watching a Christmas movie in the food truck. “I didn’t want to escalate anything. But I knew the danger was coming toward us. Worst-case scenario, I was prepared,” he said.
Describing the incident in a post on Facebook, the Sanford Police Department said, “On Friday, December 1st at 3:52 p.m. The Sanford Police Dept. responded to the intersection of Main St. and Lebanon St. for a report of a male who had been shot. Witnesses on scene described a male who was in the intersection, in and out of the roadway yelling at vehicles and carrying a knife. This male approached a food truck that was parked in the parking lot of T-Mobile.”
Continuing, the department said, “There was a confrontation with the owner of the truck and the male with the knife. The male with the knife was shot. The shooter is cooperating with Detectives as they gather evidence and conduct interviews. The male shot was transported to Maine Medical Center where he is listed in serious condition. There is no current risk to the public. The investigation is ongoing.”
Commenters took issue with that statement. One, for example, said, “How about notifying the public that a knife attack was prevented by a brave Sanford citizen acting in self defense. That would be an appropriate title, not shooting in Sanford and causing panic especially in this day and age.”
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