ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Good Samaritan who confronted the man who allegedly fired shots outside of Temple Israel in Albany shared his account of what happened.
On December 7, Anthony Morigerato, a medical transportation driver for Safe Care Mobility Services, had just dropped off a client at St. Peter’s Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Hackett Boulevard in Albany. It is a place he knows well.
“My mother used to work at 301 Hackett as a receptionist,” explained Morigerato. “Barb was a friend of my mother’s.”
Barbara Medley was the receptionist at the facility that day.
“After knowing Anthony for so many years, he goes above and beyond for lots of people,” said Medley.
Little did Morigerato know, not too far away, Albany Police were notified of a shots fired incident near Temple Israel, just hours before the first night of Hanukkah.
As Morigerato was getting ready to leave the parking lot, he noticed a man.
“The assailant with a gun was coming up over the grass,” recalled Morigerato. “And I’d seen the shotgun in his left, I believe it was his left arm.”
A security camera shows Morigerato’s interaction with him. Police say that man is 28-year-old Mufid Fawaz Alkhader.
“So I went up to him and said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you think you’re going?’ He says, ‘They’re killing my people. They’re killing my people.'”
Morigerato got him to hand over the shotgun and called 911. Within minutes, police were on the scene. It wasn’t until police showed up that Medley knew something was happening.
“When I saw him standing there, I knew he wasn’t hurt. So, that was a relief for me right there,” said Medley.
Later, she learned of Morigerato’s bravery.
“He’s my superhero without a cape.”
“I think I’m a little shell-shocked with the whole thing,” said Morigerato. “But it was the right thing to do.”
