London business owner takes action amidst chaos of manhunt

LONDON, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — This past weekend was one night residents of Laurel County and surrounding counties will never forget, with people frantically trying to find places to hide. A London business owner and his family took it upon themselves to help protect their neighbors.

“When you first hear about it suddenly, it’s scary. There’s uncertainty. You don’t know what’s happening or what’s taking place,” the owner of London Travel Plaza, Jonathan Arnett, said.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

• Louisville will not host Sundance Festival, Cincinnati still in the running
• Lexington pair indicted in death of infant
• Nationwide school lockdowns due to threats: 12 Kentucky counties disrupted

Arnett works with his family at his gas station/restaurant known as London Travel Plaza. As scary as the situation was, Arnett said he knew he had to jump into action.

“You’ve got family, friends, customers that could be in harm’s- way. Instinctively you want to try to protect those,” Arnett said.

Between security cameras everywhere, Arnett said his goal was to welcome everyone in to at least give some relief to a night like that.

“We have people on the perimeter keeping eyes out. I won’t say it’s a security team, but we have people involved in security. My son-in-law Mackenzie is a former police officer with many years of training and a lot of experience. He’s helping us with the perimeters and the inside as well,” Arnett said.

The situation still has a lot of people on edge, but Arnett is determined to show his community that now is the time to band together.

LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS:

• Kentucky among the worst states to have a baby: Forbes
• Kentucky city among top US cities where the middle class is shrinking fastest
• Kentucky among ‘least fun states’ in America, according to WalletHub analysis

“What makes me feel even better is knowing my employees are safe, my customers are safe. We used this that night when we heard it as a place of refuge for our employees and customers. We locked down. We’re here to protect, and we believe in neighbor helping neighbor, friend helping friend, stranger helping stranger, anywhere we can lend a hand,” Arnett said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.