Ohatchee, AL – On Sunday night the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office received a BOLO (Be on Look Out) for a white car in the area of Grayton Rd in Ohatchee. Between 10 and 10:30 pm patrol deputies were dispatched to the same area to respond to a possible shooting in progress. Upon arrival deputies located the white vehicle still occupied by the suspected shooter. Sheriff Matthew Wade also responded to the incident and was on scene to assist deputies with securing the suspect, later identified as John Loren Pruitt, 53, of Ohatchee. Pruitt was still armed when the deputies arrived, but did not attempt to fire at law enforcement. When deputies were able to assess Pruitt, they found a serious gunshot wound to his leg. Sheriff Wade said, “It was one of the worst wounds I have seen. His leg looked like it was almost amputated.” Medics and deputies were able to get Pruitt out of the vehicle and onto a stretcher where he was transported to an awaiting Air Medivac. Pruitt was flown to UAB in very serious condition due to severe blood loss and the gunshot wound itself.
During the course of the on-scene investigation deputies were able to learn what unfolded. Pruitt was seen stopping his vehicle in front of a house on Grayton Rd. One of the children had seen the vehicle and opened the front door to see who it was. It was at that time that Pruitt opened fire with a .44 special hitting the house and the victim’s vehicle. The homeowner heard the shots and quickly grabbed his hunting rifle and proceeded toward the front of his home. He then fired at the vehicle, which Pruitt was still located, and struck it numerous times. “One of the rounds appears to have gone through the firewall, hitting the suspect in the leg”, stated Sheriff Wade.
Investigators also learned that the homeowner did not know Pruitt and had not ever interacted with him in the past. “This does not appear to be some kind of neighborhood feud” advised Sheriff Wade. The investigators are still attempting to learn why Pruitt seemed to randomly choose the house he did and why he would open fire at a child standing at the door. Sheriff Wade said, “Thank God he missed the child.”
Pruitt is still located at UAB and charges will be filed against him upon his release. Charges will include attempted murder along with others. The investigation is still ongoing with the Sheriffs Office but no charges are expected to be filed against the homeowner that was defending himself. “I’m glad that the homeowner was able to defend himself from this attack”.
