Former CNN anchor Lynne Russell and another former reporter for the cable news network became involved in a shootout Tuesday night at an Albuquerque motel that killed a robber, according to various news outlets, including the Albuquerque Journal.
Russell and husband Chuck de Caro were staying overnight at a Motel 6 a few miles north of Route 66. According to The Daily Mail in London, the two were staying there overnight amid a cross-country trip to California that included forays on Route 66. Russell had graduated from Manzano High School in Albuquerque.
We’ll let the Journal pick up the story:
When she went to get something from her car, a man pointed a gun at her and forced her back into the couple’s room. De Caro was in the shower, and when he came out he saw the offender had forced her against the bed, she said.
Russell said she and de Caro tried to talk to the man in an attempt to calm him down […] Russell said both she and de Caro have concealed weapons permits and had put two guns in the bedside table. Russell was able to slide one of them into her purse and handed the purse to de Caro.
[…] When the intruder demanded the briefcase, de Caro told him there was nothing valuable in it. The intruder got upset that de Caro wasn’t giving him the briefcase and opened fire, she said. De Caro, who had the gun from Russell’s purse, returned fire.
Russell said that de Caro fired six shots and that when he was finished the intruder was still firing. The intruder died in the parking lot, she said.
De Caro was wounded three times, including twice in the abdomen, but is expected to recover. Russell jumped behind a piece of furniture to avoid being hit during the crossfire. Police have not identified the dead suspect.
Russell, reported to be 68, is best-known for hosting CNN Headline News from 1983 to 2001. What’s lesser-known is holds two black belts in martial arts, was a reserve deputy sheriff in Georgia for about a decade and still is a private detective. De Caro, who’s about 65, was a member of the 20th Special Forces and attended the U.S. Air Force Academy.before getting into reporting.
So Russell and de Caro are highly trained in weapons and self-defense. The robber obviously picked the wrong couple.
UPDATE: The Daily Mail today identified the dead man as Tomorio Walton, 27, who absconded parole in Memphis and has a long list of convictions in Tennessee, including felony theft and burglary.
(Image of Chuck de Caro and Lynne Russell last month via Russell’s Twitter feed)
For someone who allegedly went to Manzano High, she demonstrates a remarkable lack of judgment in hotel selection. That’s a bad part of town and a cheesy hotel.
Apparently CNN doesn’t pay very well.
Glad they were able to defend themselves.
I’m glad you posted this. Seems to me they gave the guy every chance. They have saved others from meeting a worse fate.