Neighbors Help Rescue Woman
ALTOONA, BLAIR COUNTY, Central PA
Police credit several neighbors for coming together and helping a woman escape an assault.
Police say Henry Yancey held his ex-girlfriend hostage for more than 20 hours. He allegedly physically assaulted her throughout the night, threatened to kill her and stabbed her in the leg.Friday morning she tried to make her escape, but Yancy, who was naked at the time, caught her and continued to assault her near the 1000 block of Lexington Avenue.
“There was a lot of ruckus,” said neighbor Tatiana Scriver. “They almost sounded like there was a stampede going through the building.”
Another neighbor Nicky Mimikos said, “He’s on top of her just punching her in the face. He got up and started stomping her in the face.”
That’s when another neighbor, Henry Oppenheim, saw what was going on and sprung into action.
“So I quickly ran into my room grabbed my gun and went out to defend her,” said Oppenheim “I said let her go. And then he finally did it.”
Oppenheim has a concealed carry permit and says he brings his gun almost everywhere he goes.
“And then we moved her to the front to get her safe and secure and away from him,” said Scriver.
“We all stick together and when we see a girl getting beat — we just don’t allow that,” said Mimikos
As for Oppenheim, he says he’d do it all over again.
“In a heartbeat. Not a second thought. No reservations.”
One concealed permit holder was the difference between life and death here. Henry Oppenheim, the heroin of our story, knew from the start that he needed to intervene. He took it upon himself to save the poor victim from Henry Yancey, a scumbag woman abuser. People who prey on the defenseless should be sent to a special place, whether it be an 8×10 cell with Bubba or a hospital bed.
When asked about his actions, Oppenheim said he’d do it all over again. Damn right, good sir. As concealed carriers we have a responsibility to step in and save a victim clinging to life. The permit holder responded quickly to the situation unfolding in front of him, ultimately grabbing his firearm and using it to diffuse the situation.
If he hadn’t had a gun, this would be a different story altogether. There’s a good chance the attacker would have killed the innocent female. She may have been just one punch away from death before Oppenheim stepped in with his gun drawn.
The abuser was lucky our guy didn’t unload a clip into his heartless body.
