Taunton rampage hero: ‘We wish to go back to our lives’
The off-duty Massachusetts deputy sheriff who shot a man dead during a stabbing rampage in a Taunton restaurant earlier this month is speaking out.
Deputy James Creed.
Plymouth County Deputy Sheriff James Creed, who has been called a hero, posted his thoughts on Facebook, writing:
“While we appreciate all of the kind words and messages that we have received, there is no cause for celebration regarding this incident. We only wish to go back to our jobs, our families, and our lives.”
Creed was having dinner with his wife at a Bertucci’s restaurant in the Silver City Galleria Mall in Taunton on May 10 when Arthur DaRosa rushed in, stabbing a waitress and diner.
DaRosa had earlier crashed his car outside the Taunton home of Patricia Slavin and then entered her home, fatally stabbing the 80-year-old woman and injuring her daughter. He then drove to Silver City Galleria Mall, where he entered Bertucci’s and stabbed waitress Sheenah Savoy and diner George Heath, a New Bedford teacher. Creed reportedly approached DaRosa with his badge and gun out and identified himself as a law enforcement officer. He told DaRosa to drop the knife. When he wouldn’t, Creed fatally shot DaRosa once in the stomach.
Creed’s wife Laura, a nurse, provided first aid to the injured victims at the restaurant, Creed wrote.
Creed acknowledged Heath’s bravery for intervening, saying “without his actions, the outcome could have been even worse.” Heath was killed during the attack. Creed thanked the first responders and asked people to keep the victims and their families in their thoughts.
Creed has been with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department since 2005. In the statement, he discussed how the events of May 10 affected his own family.
“This was in every way a senseless tragedy, and one that we wish had never occurred. My wife and I will be forever impacted by the events of Tuesday night.”
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