Retired Nashua Cop Turns Tables on Supermarket Gunman

Scott Childs believes he was in the right place at the right time when a distraught man pulled a loaded .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver on him in a supermarket parking lot.

"I'm a firm believer in God. I had no intention of stopping at the grocery store, but one thing led to another that day, and I was about an hour off my usual schedule coming home from work," said Childs, a retired Nashua Police officer. 

"Did God place me there for a reason? I have to think another guy or woman may not have been able to handle that situation as a trained person did. I think I was meant to be there, without sounding corny, and I'm glad it worked out well. Nobody got hurt, this guy not hurt," said Childs, who retired from the Nashua police force after 28 years on the job. He has worked for the UMass Lowell campus police department for two years.

Childs said he'd run into the grocery store for some chicken wings on Oct. 15.

"I was only in there for five minutes, and when I came out, there was a gentleman standing behind the rear of my vehicle, talking on his cell phone. As I approached, I noticed he'd lean against my car for a minute, then pace around while on the phone. I knew something was going on," said Childs.

Childs got to his car and asked the man what was going on, and the man, Joshua Webb, asked Childs if he owned the car he was leaning on.

"He told me he was upset over the fact that I hadn't parked between the lines in an actual parking spot. I had pulled into a space that was next to the white lines, which I didn't realize when I parked. So I said, 'Thank you for letting me know.' But this guy said, 'You're not going anywhere. I'm calling the police.' At that point I told him to go ahead and call the police, but just get away from the back of my car, first," Childs said.

Webb told Childs he wasn't going anywhere, and that he'd have to run him over. So Childs identified himself to Webb as a police officer.

"That's when he picks up his shirt and removes a handgun from a holster," Childs said.

At first Webb just showed the gun to Childs. So Childs told him to put the gun back in his holster, which he did. Then Childs told Webb he was going to get his police identification from his car.

"I turned and leaned into my car to grab my wallet from the console and when I turned back around, this guy was crouched over my trunk holding the gun at my chest, shaking and staring at me," Childs said.

It was at this moment, staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, that Childs said he actually beleived Webb might pull the trigger.

"I've been in a lot of situations that were dangerous before, and in this instance, I truly thought he just might shoot me. He was shaking so bad that he could have pulled the trigger by accident," Childs said.

Again, Childs told Webb to put his gun away, and Webb finally did comply, at which point Childs took a few steps toward Webb, then grabbed him, put his arms behind his back and held Webb down against the trunk of the car. He removed the gun from Webb's holster and put it in his own pocket to secure it, Childs said.

Then he called Nashua Police, who arrived within minutes.

"It was clear to me that this guy didn't have all his faculties. He'd walked to the store from his home, so I'm not sure why the parking was an issue for him. If he hadn't run into me at that moment, it could have been anybody that he decided to have an issue with. That gun was loaded with some pretty powerful ammunition. Someone else might not have known how to handle the situation," Childs said.

In the end, Childs said he's just glad things worked out as they did. But something else struck him about the situation, as he thought about it afterward.

"Several people saw him pull the gun on me, and to the best of my knowledge, nobody ever called the police. Also, in the time it took Nashua Police to get there, I was holding this guy down on the trunk of my car. Meanwhile people are walking by with shopping carts, apparently thinking nothing of it. They would just look away, or keep walking. They had no way of knowing what had just happened, or which one of us was in trouble," Childs said.

"But I'm talking about a crowded major supermarket parking lot at 4:30 in the afternoon, in the north end of Nashua, and nobody seemed to care," Childs said. "It's just funny, how people are.

Webb, 29, of 117 Newton Drive, Nashua, was charged with one count of criminal threatening and one count of reckless conduct. He was held on $10,000 Cash or Surety bail pending arraignment at Nashua District Court. A Class B Felony is punishable up to 7 years imprisonment exclusive of fines -- and if found guilty, would exclude Webb from being able to own a gun legally in the future, Childs said.