SEQUOYAH COUNTY, Okla. — It was a rainy night in the summer of 2021 when two men stopped their car to help a stranded driver near Vian. Instead of a "thank you," they were both shot.
The suspect accused of the shooting is due back in court on May 31.
The victims continue being kind after knowing their lives will never be the same.
"I was former law enforcement," Derek Riggs said. "One of the big things that you always fear, especially in law enforcement, is getting shot."
That fear became a reality on July 17, 2021
Derek Riggs and Jake Myers were driving on I-40 when they saw a stranded driver. Out of the kindness of their hearts, they drove the man to the Love's Convenience Store in Vian. Surveillance video captured them buying the man, Lee King, a gallon of gas. They even got him a bottle of water, but something felt off.
"I was really uncomfortable," Riggs said. "There was just a really dark feeling with this guy in the backseat."
They took King back to his car. Myers went to get the gas container out of their trunk, but the hatch was locked. That's when Riggs said he noticed King had a gun in the backseat and tried grabbing it from him. When Myers got back into the car, he says King started firing. Riggs was shot first.
"I knew that I was being shot," Riggs said. "I just couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel any pain or anything because I think my adrenaline had kicked in. My fight or flight had kicked in, and I'm just trying to survive."
Riggs says he was shot twice in the abdomen and once in the leg. There is still a bullet hole in his gas pedal that reminds him of that day, every day.
"All in all, I think I was probably in the hospital for about a month," he said. "I spent time in inpatient doing rehab, trying to learn to walk again."
Myers was shot in the jaw and has had several surgeries to heal his wounds.
"They came in and took a piece of my fibula bone from my leg and rebuilt my jaw," he explained.
He's getting his first dental implant surgery Tuesday, April 12.
According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, King carjacked and shot a woman in Oklahoma City earlier that day. Riggs and Myers often wonder how they survived, but they now think they understand why this happened to them.
"I think it was to get somebody off the streets that didn't need to be on the streets," Myers said.
The biggest lesson they've learned is to trust your gut.
"I did feel a little anxious all day long," Myers said. "Something was wrong, but I couldn't figure it out."
Riggs added, "It changed us forever."
As Myers undergoes dental implant surgery, Riggs will likely need shoulder surgery soon. He dislocated it trying to grab the gun during the altercation and has had issues with it ever since.
Meantime, King is due back in court on May 31. He's charged with two counts of shooting with intent to kill and one count of maiming.
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