In the corner office of the Partridge Well Co. facility, Merritt Partridge heard the sounds ring out in the morning air.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Fireworks? Some of the guys had played pranks in the past and set off a few in the yard.
But Partridge knew. He owns guns. These were gunshots.
He was with his brother, Lance, when he looked out the window and saw almost a dozen guys looking just as confused as he was.
It was just after 7 a.m. and they, too, were prepping for the day when the sounds interrupted.
Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.
A second volley of bursts.
The guys started making their way to the Westside business’s front gates when Jack Padgett made eye contact with Partridge and started running toward the sounds.
Partridge and the others were seconds behind.
There weren’t any more bursts. Just the sight of an unmarked police car with flashing lights, pock-marked windshield and a detective standing near the back.
He was bleeding. The first three bursts were shots fired at him, hitting his head, torso and hand.
It was a routine traffic stop that was anything but routine. The crew at Partridge Well went to work methodically as first responders.
Teamwork amid the morning chaos
It was a seemingly typical Wednesday morning for the nearly dozen workers at the sixth-generation business along Collins Road who had arrived by 7:30 a.m.
At that point, none of them knew 19-year-old Kevin Rojas had been in an argument with his live-in girlfriend before storming off in a white Cadillac.
None of them knew an off-duty undercover narcotics detective started his morning by taking his teenage son to school.
It wasn’t long before their paths all met.
As the company finalized prep work for the day, Rojas was being pulled over by the detective for erratic driving near the train tracks just outside Partridge Well’s gates.
Police later said Rojas initiated the confrontation by firing three shots at the detective.
The Partridge Well guys heard the bursts and some thought fireworks — except novelty explosives don’t cause the ricochets they heard.
The detective, whose identity has not been released, returned fire nine times before workers rushed to the scene to see the chaos that had just unfolded.
Yet, there wasn’t any hesitancy or delay. Guys just acted on instinct, said Partridge.
Some tended to the detective. He was still standing, coherent and talking to his cavalry.
The detective provided his badge number, as he adjusted his ballistic vest to check on his wounds while asking others to help him.
He talked about how much he loved his family, including his son who was still in the car not far away.
Some of the workers checked on the teenager, made sure he was all right and asked if there was anyone he needed to call. The boy looked shocked by it all.
Other workers directed traffic. One ran down the street to warn other businesses of the shooter, who some saw running away from the scene toward bushes along the wooded road. They didn’t know for sure if it was him.
Partridge said it was a surreal scene. It was one met with diligence, teamwork and quick thinking — which were needed in the next few minutes to follow to divert even further disaster.
Dodging disaster
The stretch of train tracks just off Roosevelt Boulevard on this Wednesday morning at this particular time had a train headed south not far from the scene.
One of the workers tried to run down to the tracks to alert the conductor of the situation, to try and flag him to stop.
It’s hard to stop a train in that short amount of time, which meant the detective and the car with his son had to get farther from the tracks.
One of the workers jumped in, started the car and moved it forward — about a minute or so later, the train came speeding through the area.
While one situation was averted, another emerged. Rescue units were trying to come west on Collins Road, only to be blocked by the train.
Padgett used the detective’s radio to tell the crews to come from the other side.
A police officer was the first to show up, said Partridge, and looked to be in a state of shock with what he saw. They all were, really.
Partridge said a few minutes later the ambulances and other officers arrived. Flashing lights were everywhere. Yellow police tape cordoned off the area.
From start to finish, Partridge said it might have taken 10-15 minutes to unfold.
“But it seemed like forever,” he said.
A couple of miles away, Rojas was apprehended in a subdivision after stealing a truck not far from the shooting scene and leading police on a brief chase before crashing into a house. He was shot after police say he raised his gun when being cornered.
Back at the original scene, the guys at Partridge Well were asked to stick around for questioning.
Media showed up and cameras were rolling to record what had happened. It was still new, though, for the Partridge Well employees. Everyone was still processing it.
Not a lot of work got done that day.
Even cops have heroes
The next day, Partridge said there was a company meeting to discuss the events. Many of the questions were about the detective’s condition. He was still in the hospital but stable at that point.
Partridge said they talked about what had happened. What could have happened.
What if there were more shooters? What if the shooter came back? What if they decided to steal one of the company’s trucks instead?
“Fortunately, I think the what if’s turned out pretty good,” said Partridge.
Over the next few days, everyone wanted the latest on the detective. They watched the news and reported back to each other with updates. He has since been released from the hospital.
Meanwhile, news was spreading about their actions of rushing to help.
Calls were coming in from across the U.S. and social media messages were popping up.
They were being called heroes, although Partridge said he and others were a little uncomfortable being called that.
“The officer is the hero,” Partridge said. “He is the one who stopped the guy who could have done a lot more to someone else. … We were just happy to help. We don’t deserve any of that hero credit.”
Steve Zona disagrees.
The local Fraternal Order of Police president said people often go out of their way to tell officers they appreciate their service. What Partridge Well did went well beyond.
“They put themselves basically between harm and the police officer,” he said. “That’s the ultimate thanks from the community. They put themselves out there … that’s a special thing for us.”
It was just after 7 a.m. last Monday when Zona and others showed up at the business to personally thank the workers and present them with a plaque and “Thin Blue Line” painting by Paul Riley that bears the American flag.
“Cops Have Heroes Too” says the heading of a Facebook post memorializing the visit.
It wasn’t necessary, said Partridge, but the guys were appreciative of the visit.
The painting and plaque now hang on the wall of the company’s main office, a reminder of that Wednesday morning when they became unexpected heroes.
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