Riley Howell: UNCC Hero’s Family, Girlfriend Praise Him

Riley Howell. The name of the UNCC student who tried to stop the gunman on campus is now synonymous with heroism. The brave student’s parents, siblings, and girlfriend are now speaking out with pride over his actions.

Riley was previously praised by the police chief as a hero who “took the fight to” the shooter at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte campus. He surely saved lives. He paid for it with his own. Riley’s body was escorted to his hometown on May 2, 2019. His girlfriend, Lauren Westmoreland, shared the video to her Facebook page.

An ROTC cadet, Howell, 21, confronted the gunman as the shooter opened fire in a classroom; when it was all over, Riley and another student, Ellis “Reed” Parlier, lay dead. Four other students were wounded. The shooter is in custody.

Riley’s parents, Thomas and Natalie, have now spoken out publicly about their pride in their son. “We are just beyond proud of what he was able to do,” Natalie Henry-Howell, Riley’s mother, told the Today Show. “While kids were running one way, our son turned and ran towards the shooter.”

“If he was in the room when something like that was happening, and he had turned away, he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself.”

She also said: “And I can just picture it, I can picture him being big, and large, and trying to protect people behind him and he just died in the process of taking him down.”

“Everybody ran and Riley chased,” his dad told Today.

Riley’s younger brother, Teddy, 14, said, according to NBC: “There was no question, there was no doubt that he would have done what he did. He put others before himself…He always has…he’s always been my hero.”

Riley’s sister Iris, 19, concurred, NBC reports: “It didn’t matter what happened to him as long as others got out.”

Kevin Westmoreland, the father of Riley’s girlfriend, Lauren, also spoke out about the news that Howell had tackled the shooter, knocking him off his feet.

“If Lauren was with Riley, he would step in front of a train for her if he had to,” Westmoreland said to WSOC-TV. “I didn’t realize it might come to that for somebody else.” Lauren told Today: “That’s what he would have done, no matter what.”

She wrote on Facebook, “I just don’t really have any words. I keep hoping and hoping I will wake up from this awful dream, but I know that I won’t. I don’t know what to do, but I thank you for everyone who is reaching out to his family and my family and me. Keep us in your thoughts for the dark days to come ?.”

Here’s what you know:

In Previous Statements, Riley’s Family Said He ‘Radiated Love’ & Was ‘Truly a One of a Kind Guy’

InstagramRiley Howell.

Riley Howell’s family has also given statements to the news media in which they vividly described his personality.

“He was the kind of person who you knew would take care of you the moment you met him, and he always did. He radiated love and always will. As a friend said, ‘Beautiful souls like Riley are always with us in the way they made life more beautiful,'” his heartbroken family said in a statement.

The family described Howell in moving detail as “truly a one of a kind guy. He loved all things outdoors, adventure, and especially family. He loved to work outside and when he worked, he did it with his hands and his heart. He always was able to put others before himself and never hesitated to help anyone who needed it. He was friends with anyone and everyone – a big, muscular guy with a huge heart. He loved Star Wars, birds, cars, snowboarding, going to the lake, Kentucky Hot Browns, cooking from scratch with cast iron while listening to the Feel Good Classic Soul playlist, and his Lauren. He could also put away a pizza.”

UNCC Chancellor Philip Dubois said during an appearance on WBT Radio that the victims killed in the shooting have been identified as Ellis Parlier, 19, of Midland, North Carolina, and Howell, of Waynesville, North Carolina. Drew Pescaro, 19, of Apex, North Carolina; Sean Dehart, 20, of Apex, North Carolina; Rami Alramadhan, 20, of Saudi Arabia; and Emily Houpt, 23, of Charlotte, have been identified by Dubois as the injured victims.

“Everyone in this community stands in shock and grief,” said Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles in a news conference. “…It is a time of unity.”

The gunman did not know the victims, police said.

Police Called Riley Howell the ‘First & Foremost Hero’

Riley Howell with his girlfriend.

The police chief made it clear: Riley Howell saved others with his actions on that awful day.

Sources told WSOC-TV that Howell jumped on the gunman in the classroom to save others.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney praised Howell in a news conference.

“He’s an athletically built young man and he took the fight to the assailant… he saved lives doing so. What he did was he took the assailant off his feet, and then the heroes we have here (police officers) were able to apprehend him,” Kerr said.

“When you talk about heroism…the first and foremost hero, as far as I am concerned, and his name is Riley Howell,” the chief added.

“He was probably the second fatality in this incident. His family, as you might imagine, is traumatized, devastated. But when I spoke to the father, one father to another, I told him personally I wish I had words…What I did tell him is we are committed to the work. We are going to get to the bottom of it. We are going to find out the why.”

Putney said that Howell took “the fight to the assailant.” He said he had “no place to run and hide.” If it wasn’t for Howell, “the assailant might not have been disarmed,” said Putney. “Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process, but his sacrifice saved lives.”

A fellow classmate said on Twitter that Howell was in the ROTC and would have been in the military after college. “Riley Howell was an ROTC cadet and on his way to be an officer. He promised to fight for his country and lost his life in a heroic act. He was said to have jumped on the gunman…..Rest easy to a hero named Riley,” the student tweeted.

North Carolina State Rep. Brian Turner wrote on Facebook, “I learned this morning that T.C. Roberson High School alum Riley Howell was among the victims of the deadly shooting yesterday at UNC Charlotte. Part of the alert that the school sent out yesterday said ‘Run, Hide, Fight.’ Early reports say Riley chose to fight and was fatally shot while attempting to physically confront and stop the shooter. This selfless act would have delayed the shooter giving police more time to respond and prevented further deaths.”

Turner added, “Riley Howell will be remembered for his courage, for the life he lived, and for the lives he saved. I ask you to join me in keeping Riley’s family in your prayers.”