Not all lawmakers are attacked just on the political stage or within the halls of the General Assembly – sometimes it happens when one least expects it.
House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones (R-Suffolk) has had a few run-ins with danger throughout his life. In 1985, while working at his pharmacy, he was robbed at gunpoint.
Again, in 1987, he encountered a drug-addicted woman near his business who shoved a gun into his side demanding he give her drugs. During the confrontation, he grabbed his gun and shot the woman in the shoulder, freeing him of her grasp on him. Reportedly, she later thanked him for helping her to transform her life for the better after the incident.
Jones also faced another violent situation this past week as he was getting ready to head down to the General Assembly for a Friday session before a relaxing weekend was set to begin. As reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the situation began with screaming early in morning outside his Miller & Rhodes apartment building in downtown Richmond.
Around 6:30 Friday morning, Jones said he heard screaming coming from outside as a man was berating a woman sitting on a bench in front of the building. In light of this, he quickly went downstairs and outside to confront the argument head on.
As Jones walked outside the building, he witnessed a homeless woman being viciously threatened by a apparent mentally-disturbed man. The woman being attacked was said to be known fairly well by many of the apartment’s residents as she is on the bench regularly.
The attacker, a man, donning a military-style jacket, was in a tirade over Jewish and al-Qaeda groups, and hurled a steaming cup of hot chocolate at the woman’s face. He was also screaming about, “burning her eyes out.”
The Republican lawmaker then said to the man, “She is not bothering anyone. Go!” As the man began walking away, “Just leave her alone,” Jones said.
After the man finally ceased verbally excoriating the woman, Jones turned to head inside the lobby of the building to call the police to help the woman. But, the man came from behind and attacked the lawmaker.
“We had each other’s throat,” Jones said. “I wasn’t letting him go. And he wasn’t letting me go.”
Karen Jones, the delegate’s wife, was coming down to check on the situation when she saw the two men struggling in the lobby and screamed for help.
Tim Glass, a 50-year-old phlebotomist who recently moved to Richmond, had caught the same elevator as Mrs. Jones to head down for an early morning coffee.
“I just darted out the door to break it up,” Glass said.
Glass yelled to spook the assailant which led to the two men releasing each other near the doorway. Glass then walked the man who attacked the woman away from the scene as the man made a final violent threat that he would return to kill Jones.
When speaking with reporters, Glass explained that he has encountered a handful of “rude people” who have been pestering him about a cigarette. However, he said this was the first time that something actually dangerous has happened. He claimed the woman could have been seriously hurt if Jones had not stepped in.
“I’m sure he saved a life,” Glass said. “This guy was like the worst I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here.”
Although he left the lobby with a ripped dress shirt and scratches around his neck, Jones downplayed the dramatic incident. He commended others who responded to the situation of the woman being attacked.
“I just happened to be the first one on the scene,” Jones said.
A spokesman for the Richmond Police Department (RPD) said no arrests have been made related to the incident, but confirmed there were three separate calls to dispatch that matched the incident in which Jones and Glass were involved. On Tuesday, the RPD was unable to locate the homeless woman.
Even though Jones never announced the scuffle to his colleagues in the General Assembly, the news traveled fast.
Jones told reporters that he went into work right after the incident.
“I changed my shirt,” Jones said. “And came on in.”
