Officers from the Baltimore Police Department arrested Marine veteran Lloyd Muldrow after he saved his friend’s life by disarming an attacker on July 4, 2022.
The Washington Times reported the incident occurred at an Independence Day family and friends celebration at the Tequila Sunset in Baltimore. The attacker, Wesley Henderson, became infuriated after spotting his ex-girlfriend dancing with Muldrow’s friend, Marshal Cullens.
According to the outlet, Henderson allegedly pushed Cullens and brandished a pistol, shouting, “I’ll kill everyone.”
When Muldrow arrived at the scene, he noticed his friend fighting and immediately “took action by disarming Mr. Henderson, and then helped Mr. Collins hold Henderson on the ground.”
“When I got there, I saw him [Cullens] bleeding profusely from his head,” Muldrow told Washington Times. “It looked like he had a gunshot wound to his forehead. He was bleeding so badly that I couldn’t do anything but react. I saw the guy with the pistol in his hand, and I hit the guy and knocked him down. We went to the ground, and I secured the pistol from him.”
According to crowd fundraiser GiveSendGo, police arrived at the scene and witnessed Cullens and Muldrow subduing Henderson. Officers asked for the location of the attacker’s gun, which was taken from him. Muldrow informed the police that he had a firearm on his hip, and they asked him to hand it over.
The police then arrested Henderson and thanked Muldrow for his help, knowing if a cop had been at the scene before Muldrow, they would’ve responded with their firearm. However, once the supervising officer arrived on the scene and the investigation fell on him, he demanded Muldrow’s firearm be investigated for lawfulness. Muldrow’s lawyer, Stark, said that police body cam footage showed the police officers were confused about why they had to arrest him.
“This guy probably saved somebody’s life, and he got arrested,” an officer said in the video.
Cullens told Muldrow that if he hadn’t rescued him, Henderson probably would’ve killed him.
“The [police] reaction was, ‘Thank you because we didn’t have to kill nobody and we didn’t have to shoot nobody,’” Muldrow explained. “The officers, even when they took me to the jailhouse, it was like, please look out for this guy. This guy took care of us.”
The veteran’s firearm was permitted in Virginia, and he had a job where he was security at federal facilities, requiring him to be armed. But he wasn’t registered in Maryland, prompting the good Samaritan to be arrested.
“I have taught Marines hand-to-hand combat for many years,” Muldrow stated. I have disarmed several enemies, as well as IEDs. My natural reaction was to do as I was trained for my country.”
His attorney, Michael Stark, said his client’s arrest stemmed from Maryland’s superannuated laws.
“Lloyd Muldrow is an accomplished Marine, a self-defense instructor and a church-going mentor to young people,” Stark said. “now, because of Maryland’s outdated and possibly unconstitutional gun laws, he faces jail as if he were every bit as criminally-minded as Mr. Henderson, rather than the selfless hero for his country and his friends that he proved himself to be.”
Muldrow is facing a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in prison for having a handgun within 100 feet of a public building, despite not drawing his weapon.
The Marine isn’t planning on taking a plea deal and wants to take it to trial.
“I’m not going to settle with probation or anything like that,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair. I’ve carried overseas in different countries, and you’re telling me I can’t carry my weapon from one state to another? I’ve trained more than the average police officer, and I can’t carry from Virginia to Maryland? I have a real big problem with that.”
In June 2022, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan decided to ease the state’s uptight concealed carry law with the New York Supreme Court’s decision in Rifle vs. Bruen, which concluded that the second amendment includes the right to have a firearm outside of the carrier’s home.
The GiveSendGo campaign, created by Stark, is asking for $100,000 to help Muldrow with his legal battle.
