Man Who Caught White House Shooter Gets Carnegie Heroes Prize

PITTSBURGH, Pa. —  On the same day that Francisco Martin Duran was sentenced for attempting to kill the President, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission honored Harry M. Rakosky Jr. for tackling the gunman outside the White House.

Rakosky, 34, of San Antonio, hadn’t even planned to visit the White House on Oct. 29, the day the shots were fired. He was just walking along Pennsylvania Avenue, “kind of daydreaming,” when he happened upon the frantic scene, he said.

He heard bangs that sounded like firecrackers, then saw a crowd fleeing and a man with a gun slung over his shoulder.

“I told my foot to move,” said Rakosky, a former security officer who used to guard embassies under construction. He grabbed the man from behind and landed on top of him, then restrained him until help arrived.

Rakosky was one of 15 people to be commended by the Pittsburgh organization, founded in 1904 by industrialist Andrew Carnegie to honor those who risk or lose their lives trying to save others. Heroes or their survivors receive $2,500 and a medal.

No one was injured when Duran peppered the White House with 29 rounds. He said he was shooting at an evil “mist” hovering over the building.

Authorities believe that Duran, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison, was about to load a new magazine into his semiautomatic assault rifle when Rakosky grabbed him.