Scott R. Williams attempted to rescue Lara K. Sobel from assault, Barre, Vermont, August 7, 2015.
Sobel, 48, was walking in the parking lot of a commercial building when an enraged woman armed with a .270-caliber hunting rifle approached and shot her at close range. Sobel fell to the pavement.
Williams, 50, attorney of Berlin, Vermont, was on the ground floor of the building when he heard the shot. Looking through a nearby window, he saw the assailant standing over Sobel. Williams immediately ran about 40 feet to a door that accessed the parking lot, en route hearing a second shot. Leaving the building, he approached the assailant, shouting at her and attracting her attention.
When Williams reached the assailant, he grabbed the rifle from her, disabled it, and set it aside. He then kept himself between Sobel and the assailant, verbally engaging her.
Others soon responded and secured the assailant, holding her until police arrived. Williams tended to Sobel, whose wounds were fatal.
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Carnegie Medal presentation to Scott R. Williams
From left: Barre Police Chief Tim Bombardier, Congressman Peter Welch, Scott Williams, Governor-elect Phil Scott, and Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon.