NEW ALBANY, Ind. — As Richard Wen and his wife Winnie prepared to open Onion's Restaurant and Tea House Monday morning, a man Indiana police identified as Cherok Douglass walked in their front door with a gun.
Richard described the man walking in and demanding keys to the car while grabbing Winnie and holding a gun to her head.
Richard said they went to the parking lot. He said Douglass got in a car and - with Winnie standing at the open car door - he sped into reverse, dragging her and breaking her ribs.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Carey Huls said Douglass attempted to run over the officers, at which time they shot at him.
Meanwhile, Richard ran to grab his wife of 40 years and pull her to safety.
"We didn't say anything," Richard said. "Only me talking, 'hold on it's okay, it's okay.'... I said, 'it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. Let's go.'"
Later, Richard recalled talking to his wife about the situation, wondering why she didn't yell for him. "She just said, you know why, I just want to protect you. That's the truth, that made me feel," Richard said. He then lost himself in thought.
Words can't describe it.
Once a young couple, Winnie and Richard married in Taiwan before chasing the American dream. He said they worked hard to save for retirement, and now they could lose it all.
"She doesn't have health insurance," Richard said.
With Winnie still in the hospital, Richard fears the bills will be too much for them to afford.
Their family made a gofundme page with a starting goal of $30,000. By Wednesday night, they were two-thirds of the way there.
For now, Richard's thanking God his wife is still alive and wondering what to do next.
"I even think I want to close the restaurant," he said, standing in the nearly empty parking lot. "But I still have a couple more years maybe."
He says he needs time. So, the restaurant will be closed for the near future, maybe a week, until he's able to come back and serve the community that's come to love them.
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