A story told in first-person by halofighter8, MPBS Junior State Employee
I set out to take some pictures of a National Guard patrol that occurred in Lander. In doing so, I got a few more pictures of a far more chaotic event.
On July 20th, the Mayflower National Guard set up fortifications atop the Queensbridge Synagogue in Lander City. The reason for their presence there was made unclear, and any attempt at questioning them was met with a brief “No comment”. Civilians were allowed to roam the post freely and talk with the guardsmen. One civilian in particular, however, was there for less-favorable motives.
A man dressed in an outfit resembling “Big Lez”, the main character from an Australian Web Series on YouTube known as The Big Lez Show, was attempting to push people off of the roof of the Synagogue. He was warned by a guardsman to stop but continued for a few minutes after. No action was taken against him as this occurred while the guardsmen were packing up the outpost’s equipment.
Thinking little of it, I proceeded back to my company van, when I spotted the same man following behind me, all the way up to the driver’s side of my vehicle. There he stood as he drank from an unmarked bottle, clearly attempting to get behind the wheel. I cautiously waited for him to leave, and eventually he stepped away just far enough for me to get in and start driving.
Unfortunately for me, the man managed to force his way inside of my van as I attempted to speed off. So, I pulled over on 1st Avenue and left my van, locking the man inside. The situation got worse from there, as the man violently thrashed about inside of the vehicle, breaking windows, and even managing to move it completely across the street. He started shouting threats at me as I called for help over the radio.
An employee of the Clark County Regional Hospital, paramedic LOWENKONIG, arrived at the scene to assist with the situation. After a brief assessment, LOWENKONIG advised that I unlock the vehicle and enter it. As soon as I did so, “Big Lez” entered the passenger seat, expressing a mix of relief and frustration that he was finally freed. But he wasn’t done yet.
The man exited the vehicle shortly after and confronted the paramedic, threatening him verbally before he began to use physical aggression. Paramedic LOWENKONIG responded by equipping his sidearm in an attempt to scare the intoxicated cosplayer away, but to no avail.
Failing to diffuse the situation, LOWENKONIG retreated back to their ambulance to call for additional backup before driving down the street, accidentally running over the intoxicated man in the process. Unphased, the man got up and sprinted over to my employee van. Unbeknownst to me, the van was left unlocked, allowing them to drive off with my vehicle.
LOWENKONIG was kind enough to give me a ride back to MPBS HQ so that I could respawn my van, but I’ll always double-check from now on to make sure it’s locked when I’m away. “Big Lez”, while likely still at-large, has a lesson to be learned; always keep your car locked.