Bill Steinkirchner and his wife, Melanie, got the kind of call no parent ever wants to receive from their college-aged daughter on Sunday morning.
Melanie Steinkirchner writes: Facebook The woman said her daughter was walking to breakfast when a man attacked her, punched her, said he had a gun and threatened to kill her. The woman ducked and escaped, avoiding injury, but remained shaken while calling home.
But the father was undeterred, recalling telling police, “No! I'm not going to stop chasing him. This is my daughter and we have to get this guy.”
But her home is in Southern California. Kilo TV He noted that the Steinkirchners' daughter attends the University of Washington in Seattle, about 1,000 miles away.
But the distance was no obstacle for my father.
“As soon as we got that phone call, Bill booked a flight and headed to Seattle,” Melanie wrote on Facebook. “I didn't want him to be on his own, but I couldn't stop him.”
Steinkirchner, owner of Stone Church Brewing Co. in Corona, told the station he booked the next flight to Seattle with the intent of confronting the man who had threatened his daughter.
“I think I would have done the same thing as any father,” he told KIRO. “This is my daughter.”
Steinkirchner, incidentally, told BlazeNews that his previous job was as an Army colonel.
Melanie posted on Facebook that her husband arrived in Seattle around 2:30 p.m. that day and in the University District around 3:30 p.m. KIRO reported that Steinkirchner had a description of the man and had received photos of him from her daughter and her classmates, and that students had reported on a University of Washington message board that they had been harassed by the same man throughout the weekend.
According to Melanie's article, Steinkirchner told KIRO that she was retracing her daughter's footsteps and spotted the gunman around 4 p.m.
“I saw him and I said, 'Hey!'” Steinkirchner told KIRO, adding that she yelled several expletives at the male, who then quickly ran away.
Steinkirchner, who turns 60 next month, chased the man despite the fact he was wearing a backpack, police added.
Steinkirchner added to KIRO that he was on the phone with police during the chase through the alley, where authorities told him to “stop chasing” the man and insisted he “don't chase him.”
But the father was undeterred, recalling telling the police station, “No! I'm not going to stop chasing him. This is my daughter. I have to get this guy.”
According to KIRO, Steinkirchner eventually cornered the man and police arrived a short time later and handcuffed him.
Image credit: Bill Steinkirchner, used with permission.
Police then brought Steinkirchner's daughter to the scene to help identify the suspect, police said. Below is Steinkirchner's video of the moment.
Police then took 23-year-old Ryan DiLeo into custody, according to KIRO.
“A nearby security officer identified Mr. DiLeo as a suspect in a similar broom-wielding incident. Officers arrested Mr. DiLeo on felony harassment charges. Mr. DiLeo was booked into King County Jail,” Seattle Police said in a statement to the department.
Melanie wrote in a Facebook post: “Bill's dad came to the rescue!! After police returned him to campus, Bill was finally able to meet Kayla. Kayla ran up to Bill and gave him the biggest hug she could.”
You can watch KIRO's video report and interview with Steinkirchner below. here.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censorship and sign up for our newsletter to receive stories like this directly to your inbox. Register here!
