LAUDERDALE LAKES, FLA. (WSVN) - The girlfriend of a man who was fatally gunned down at a Walmart in Lauderdale Lakes is devastated over the horrific moments that, she said, unfolded just feet away from their child.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, 42-year-old Thierry Bastien came under fire when he stepped up to save a stranger who was being attacked, Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday evening, his girlfriend, Makia Ford, spoke to 7News to share her pain.
Ford said she begged the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Tironie Sterling, to not shoot her boyfriend, but the suspect shot the victim in the chest, back and leg.
“It’s something you can never forget. It’s a day I’ll never forget for the rest of my life, as long as I live,” Ford said.
Ford said the image is still fresh, as she witnessed her boyfriend’s final moments.
“I laid on the side of him, I tried to tell him, ‘Stay with me,'” Ford said. “I even prayed on the side of him.”
BSO deputies responded to the scene of the shooting off State Road 7.
Detectives said Sterling, an off-duty employee at the Walmart, came to the store and began beating up a woman who works there as well.
That’s when, Ford said, Bastien jumped in to help.
“The guy had threw the girlfriend on the floor, and he started pounding on the girl, so he ran off to go help the girl,” Ford said, “but as he was running off, I pulled him back and I told him, ‘Don’t go,’ and he turned around at me and said, ‘I’m just going to go help.'”
“Nobody else at Walmart tried to stop it or even called security,” said Ford.
Investigators said Bastien then tackled Sterling, but that decision turned deadly.
“I said, I said please no, just for the baby, just for the baby, just for the baby,” said Ford.
Detectives said Sterling took out a gun and shot Bastien several times, all while their 4-month baby and two young family members watched in horror.
“It’s a different feeling when you watch it happen in front of you, especially with a baby in your hand, and you have a little child that watched everything and is now traumatized by everything, can’t sleep the whole night,” Ford said. “It’s difficult dealing with all of that, and it’s difficult watching it, and you can’t do nothing about it.”
Sterling was able to get away but was later arrested.
Ford said her boyfriend was a good man who loved to cook and spend time with his children.
“He was all about his family, everything was his family,” she said.
Now, she’s forced to raise their young child alone, but Ford said she plans to tells her son of the loving man his father was.
“He went out as a hero because he was just trying to save the lady from her boyfriend beating on her,” Ford said.
During the shooting, Ford’s other son and a cousin saw the incident firsthand.
Sterling’s bond was denied, and he remains behind bars.
A GoFundMe was created to help pay for Bastien’s burial arrangements. If you’d like to donate, click here.
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