Leroy Walker said he feels like he is in a dream that he desperately wants to wake up from. His son, Joseph Walker, was among the 18 people killed in Lewiston, Maine Wednesday night when an active shooter opened fire inside a bowling alley and a local bar and grille restaurant.
"You can’t describe the grief. It is too deep, too hard. It is a monster," said Walker, of Auburn, Maine. "My heart is ripped out of me and torn upside down."
Walker said his son, who was known as 'Joe' or 'Joey', was the manager at Schemengee's Bar and Grille. He had worked there for about 7 or 8 years and was working Wednesday night.
Walker said he had to wait more than 14 hours to learn that his son was one of the victims in the mass shooting. State police told the family that Joe died a hero and was shot while trying to stop the shooter and save others.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
"I hope for him dying that it drove this guy out of there so he didn't kill another two dozen people. That place was loaded," said Walker.
Officers are working around the clock in Maine, searching for the suspected shooter. Walker said he prays that the shooter is found soon, but he does not hold any hate in his heart for him.
"I can't feel the hate, because I keep going back to the Lord. Hate is where I think brought him to what he did," said Walker. "We have to get away from hate."
