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"Hero" Who Saved Girl In East Liberty Target Stabbing Rampage Being Sued

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – It was two years ago when a homeless man attacked a teenage girl inside the Target store in East Liberty.

He was found guilty, but mentally ill. But Target says the stabbing happened because of what three men did that day.

Michael Turner was there when 16-year-old Allison Meadows was stabbed twice by 41-year-old Leon Walls inside the Target in 2013.

Meadows, from Tennessee, was visiting family in Pittsburgh. She has since recovered from her wounds.

Today, Turner carried a sign outside the store reading: "Target sues stabbing victim hero."

"Everyone thinks Walls walked inside Target and stabbed this little girl, but that's not what happened, you had an encounter prior to that?" asked KDKA's Brenda Waters.

"At this point, we were standing on Highland Avenue, and then that's when Walls attacked Jobe Wright. At that point, Roland Smith and Tyreek Walker pursued behind him. At this point, I get in a car with Jobe Wright," said Turner.

Turner says he and his friend got in a car to find Walls and when they arrived at Target another friend came out of the store and said "he's in there."

"I entered Target, I run up the escalator, I make a right, that's when I encountered Walls in the store," said Turner.

Turner says he and Walls exchanged words. He also says he went into the store with a baseball bat.

"He grabbed a little girl, he didn't stab her at that point, he was talking, saying ... he was trying to get out the store and Jobe told him, 'You're not going nowhere 'til the police come,'" said Turner. "And that's when he started saying, 'Y'all think I'm playing, y'all think I'm playing. I'm not playing.' And he stabbed her the first time. Then he stabs her again."

But now the store is saying if Turner had not gone after Walls with the baseball bat, Allison would not have been stabbed.

"Well, if the guy hadn't gone on a stabbing spree, we wouldn't be standing here talking either. So, they're not looking at that," said Turner.

Roland Smith and Jobe Wright are also named in the suit with Turner, along with Walls who is in jail.

Meanwhile, the attorney for Allison Meadows has released this statement:

"We have sued Target because they failed to keep Allison safe. Suing Michael Turner is just Target's way of trying to blame someone else for what happened under their own roof. The family certainly doesn't blame Mr. Turner and they are thankful he was there that day."

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