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Rome Police Officer honored for heroic actions during AT&T shooting

By MIKE LaFAVE

Story Created: Jun 16, 2010 at 10:30 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 16, 2010 at 11:22 PM EDT

WHITESTOWN, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Whitestown Town Board celebrated and thanked Rome Police Officer Donald Moore Wednesday night for his brave and heroic actions back on May 27th, the day of the AT&T store shooting.

Moore shot Abraham Dickan after the frustrated customer shot an employee. Dickan had a hit list in his pocket with the names of 6 employees on it. There is no way to predict how many people Dickan might have shot if off-duty officer Moore hadn't happened to be in the store and reacted.

Moore said at the ceremony that his instincts kicked in when he heard the gun go off. He says police training becomes automatic.

"The joke is always that you're a cop 24/7, and that holds true I guess," Moore said.

While he was honored to accept the praise of the board, Moore says he was just doing his job.

"It's a difficult award for me to grasp," Moore said. "I just think I did what any other police officer would do that day and reacted."

Moore is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community. The hero cop says he has received letters from not just proud people in the region, but from individuals from across the state and even the country.

"It's a pretty amazing feeling to know that you actually made a difference and you can feel it and hold it and know it's real," Moore said.

Moore praises gunshot victim Seth Turk for remaining calm and contacting 911 that fateful afternoon. Even after Turk was shot by Dickan. Moore says he has met with Turk and that those conversations are, understandably, private.

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