June 1, 2002
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HEROES AMONG US
		SouthwestAirlines employee Lenny Tully gets a hug and a kiss from fellow counter worker Lollie Beecher after Tully was honored Friday with a plaque from Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee.
Ricardo Parris had just issued a ticket to Southwest Airlines passenger Amy Michelson and was checking in another passenger at Louis Armstrong International Airport on May 22 when he saw a man wearing a turban pull a shotgun out from under his shirt.		Michelson, 45, of San Diego, died Monday at Kenner Regional Medical Center, but the efforts of Parris, Tully, Freeman and two other men to tackle the shooter and save her life were honored Friday at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Harvey.
Before Parris could yell a warning, the gunman pulled the trigger, hitting Michelson in the stomach as she was making her way to the gate. The gunman turned and walked toward Parris at the Southwest ticket counter.		Calling their actions "heroic," Sheriff Harry Lee presented plaques to Ricardo, Tully and Freeman; Kenneth Padgett, manager of safety and hazardous materials for the airport; and a federal sky marshal who works undercover and received his recognition anonymously.
He pointed the gun at Southwest passenger Timothy Freeman, who was standing in front of Parris. The gun jammed, and in that second, Southwest employees Lenny Tully and Parris and passenger Freeman tackled the gunman, pinning him until police arrived.		Had the men not intervened, Lee said, "there would have been a gun battle in the lobby" between the alleged gunman, Patrick Gott, and law enforcement officers. "It feels good," Parris, of Metairie, said about receiving the recognition. "I just wish no one had died."