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Washington Man Beat Dad With Baseball Bat To Save Toddler From Violent Assault

By Chelsea Hoffman
Published on: 09:50 PST, Jun 30, 2016

A Washington man is attracting media attention after he reportedly saved a 2-year-old girl from a violent beating at the hands of her own father. WBRC News reports that Don Gilbert doesn’t want to be called a hero for what he did even though he may have saved the tot’s life by intervening with the alleged beating.

The violent incident took place on Tuesday night in Vancouver at the Sunnyside Motel off Highway 99. Don Gilbert was in his motel room at approximately 9 p.m. when he was interrupted by the sounds of screaming outside of the motel. When he went outside, he reportedly witnessed a 2-year-old girl being brutally beaten by her own father. Other witnesses say that 32-year-old Kyle Holder had thrown the toddler out of the window of their motel room before he began bashing her into the ground.

The Washington man admits that he stepped in to stop the dad from potentially killing the child. However, it took violent means to stop him from stomping and slamming the 2-year-old child repeatedly into the ground in front of horrified witnesses. Gilbert admits to grabbing a baseball bat and beating the other man with the weapon in order to get him to stop assaulting the child.

“I hit him once in the back. He had the baby by his feet. He took her to the curb and just slammed her down, and that’s when I cracked him in the skull three or four times.”

This isn’t the first time someone has had to act violently in order to stop an even more violent situation. In 2013, a Texas dad brutally beat another man to death but will never face charges for the incident. That’s because the young 23-year-old father caught 47-year-old Jesus Flores raping his five-year-old daughter. Due to Texas laws, he committed no crime because he used deadly force to stop a sexual assault — especially the sexual assault of an innocent child.

Earlier this month, an Oregon mom fatally shot a home intruder after she (and her children) arrived home to find him in one of the kids’ bedrooms. The 59-year-old man was reportedly unknown to the family, whose home he entered without permission. Authorities have confirmed that an inquiry will be conducted by the District Attorney after their investigation is finished. However, the Oregon mom has not been arrested since she has been cooperative.

As for this latest case, WNCN News reports that the other Washington man has been charged with attempted murder after the incident that could have ended in the death of his own daughter. Police have also confirmed that it is “not likely” that Don Gilbert will be facing any charges stemming from his use of a baseball bat to stop Kyle Holder from beating the child.

It should be noted that Kyle Holder had allegedly been acting strangely throughout the day leading up to the violent incident that ended in his arrest. Cops were even called on him once before, but he was not arrested. As for the 2-year-old child in this incident, no reports have identified her or shared the extent of any injuries received in the alleged beating that took place on Tuesday.

This case is attracting a healthy amount of attention on social media and is stirring conversation regarding whether or not violent force is justifiable in various situations. Do you think the Washington man was justified in using a baseball bat to stop the dad from beating on his daughter?

[Photo via Shutterstock]

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