'He was not alone': Woman who helped Potomac Mills stabbing victim has message for family
WOODBRIDGE, Va. - A woman who gave medical help to the victim of a fatal stabbing at a Virginia mall wants his family to know he was not alone in the last minutes of his life.
Police said 44-year-old Larry Drumgole was murdered by a man who was caught shoplifting from Burlington Coat Factory at Potomac Mills where Drumgole worked in loss prevention.
The suspect, Jamel Kingsbury, was arrested Tuesday in Washington D.C.
Penny Rhone, a nurse and Army captain, walked out of the shopping mall minutes after Drumgole was stabbed in the parking lot. Drumgole was with another loss prevention employee when he was attacked.
"The guy that was over him was screaming for help," Rhone said. "I wanted to help him survive. That was my thought, to be honest with you. I need to get over there, do what I can to help him survive."
She said Drumgole was gasping for breath as she and her husband performed CPR. Cell phone video captured by Rhone's brother shows some people walked by as Drumgole lie in the parking lot.
Rhone said in addition to medical help, she wanted to provide comfort.
"I prayed for him, and I'm praying that he was able to hear my prayer," she said.
She stayed with Drumgole until the paramedics came, learning later that the father of three did not survive.
Drumgole's family told FOX 5 on Sunday that no one had told them what happened after the stabbing and they wondered if anyone had helped.
"I reached out to you all because I want his family to know that he was not alone," Rhone said. "There is still human kindness out there."
Rhone wants them to know she did everything she could, and in those final moments, there were strangers who cared.
"I can't describe and I can't even begin to imagine the pain that they are feeling right now," she said. "But I just want them to find comfort in knowing that he was not alone."
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