Bouquets of flowers have piled up at the entrance to the U.S. Holocaust Museum, a small memorial to a man one of the bouquet’s inscriptions called “a righteous gentile.”
The moniker has long-been used to describe the non-Jews who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.
As museum officials have said, Stephen T. Johns, the security guard who held the door open for his accused killer, saved “countless” lives when he took a bullet in the chest. The sound of gunfire alerted his fellow guards to danger. They fired back and hit white supremacist James von Brunn in the face, knocking the Holocaust Museum shooter backwards and out the door.
Von Brunn’s son, Erik, said in a statement to ABC News, “ what he did was an act of cowardice,” as he apologized to Johns’ family in Temple Hills, Md.
Johns left behind an 11-year-old son, Stephen Jr., and his wife Zakia Johns who wrote in a note to the New York Daily News, “he was my everything. We were so happy and loved each other unconditionally. I love you, baby!”
Stephen Jr., said he rushed to the hospital Wednesday, “I thought he would make it. But he didn’t.” Johns died a little after 3 p.m. Wednesday, less than two hours after police said von Brunn shot him and before his family could make it to George Washington University Hospital.
Von Brunn has been charged with first-degree murder and carrying a firearm onto federal property. Officials said he could face the death penalty.
Johns was tall, about 6 feet 6 inches and his family recalled him as a “gentle giant,” during a memorial service Thursday.
“He loved his job, he loved his family,” said his mother Jacqueline Carter. “People used to refer to him as the gentle giant. He just loved life.” She added, “He always wanted to be in that particular line of law enforcement, helping to save people, or keep them safe.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
