The Guards Who Stopped Brunn's Rampage

Meet the guards who stopped James Von Brunn before he could do more damage, but not before Brunn murdered security guard Stephen T Johns. They're heroes.

But the men who were closest to slain guard Stephen Johns - and opened fire on the 88-year-old gunman, James Von Brunn - were not with them.

Security guards Harry Weeks and Jason McCuiston were told by investigators to take a few days off - and used the time to mourn their 39-year-old fallen friend.

"He was a good officer, said Weeks. "A real gentle man. It's so hard to believe that he's gone."

Speaking at his home in the Maryland suburbs, Weeks said that he and Johns and some of the other guards were supposed to play some basketball this weekend.

"I told him I was going to cover him like old school Danny Ainge," Weeks said, referring to the retired NBA player who was famous for his trash-talking style. "I'm just going to miss Johns."

McQuiston, who was visiting Weeks, said they used to talk from time to time about the museum being a lightning rod for anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers.

"It is a target, even though people don't think of it that way," McCuiston said.

The security guards spoke a day after Johns' 11-year-old son bared his agony. "I thought he would make it," Stephen Jr. said, recounting how he visited his mortally wounded dad at his hospital deathbed.

Weeks and McCuiston are heroes, saving the lives of others by their actions. According to the complaint against Brunn, the two guards fired a total of eight times, seriously injuring Brunn and stopping Brunn from continuing to attack. Still, one of the three shots fired by Brunn struck and killed Johns.