Army vet learns daughter got attacked, but she's at college 1,000 miles away. So he's on a plane that day and settles things.



Bill Steinkirchner and his wife, Melanie, got a call Sunday morning from their college-student daughter that no parent wants to receive.

Melanie Steinkirchner wrote on Facebook that their daughter was walking to breakfast when a male assaulted her, took swings at her, said he had a gun, and threatened to kill her. She was able to duck down, run, and avoid getting hurt, but she was still shaken during her phone call home.

But Dad was undeterred, recalling to the station that he told police, 'No! I'm not gonna stop following him. This is my daughter. I’ve got to get this guy.'

But her home is in Southern California — and KIRO-TV noted that the Steinkirchners' daughter is a student at the University of Washington in Seattle. That's about 1,000 miles away.

But that distance was no barrier for Dad.

"As soon as we got that call, Bill booked a flight and was on his way to Seattle," Melanie wrote on Facebook. "I truly didn't want him taking this into his own hands, but I couldn't stop him."

Steinkirchner — owner of Stone Church Brewing in Corona — told the station he booked the next flight to Seattle with the intention of confronting the male who threatened his daughter.

“I think any father would’ve done the same thing," he told KIRO. "It’s my baby girl."

Oh, and by the way, Steinkirchner told Blaze News his previous profession was Army colonel.

Melanie wrote on Facebook that her husband landed in Seattle around 2:30 p.m. that same day and arrived at the university district around 3:30 p.m. Steinkirchner had descriptions of the male and received photos of him from his daughter and her fellow students, KIRO said, adding that students reported on a UW message board being harassed by the same male throughout the weekend.

Steinkirchner told KIRO he was retracing his daughter's steps — and around 4 p.m. he spotted the assailant, Melanie wrote.

"And I looked at him, and I said, 'Hey!'" Steinkirchner recounted to KIRO, adding that he yelled a few expletives at the male, who immediately ran away.

Steinkirchner added to the station that despite the fact that he turns 60 next month and was wearing a backpack, he chased after the male.

What's more, Steinkirchner added to KIRO that he was on the phone with police during the chase through an alley, noting that authorities ordered him to "stop following" the male and insisted that "you can’t chase him."

But Dad was undeterred, recalling to the station that he told police, "No! I'm not gonna stop following him. This is my daughter. I’ve got to get this guy."

KIRO said Steinkirchner finally cornered the male, and police soon arrived and handcuffed him.

Image source: Bill Steinkirchner, used by permission

Officers then brought Steinkirchner’s daughter to the scene to identify the suspect, the station said. Here's video from Steinkirchner of that moment:

Police then took 23-year-old Ryan Dileo into custody, KIRO said.

"A nearby security guard identified Dileo as the suspect in other similar incidents involving swinging a broom. Officers arrested Dileo for investigation of felony harassment. Dileo was booked in the King County Jail," Seattle police said in a statement to the station.

Melanie added the following to her Facebook post, "Dad to the rescue!! Bill finally got to see Kyra back on campus after the police dropped her back, and she ran to him and gave him the biggest hug."

You can view KIRO's video report and interview with Steinkirchner here.

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Ex-cop dad of 14-year-old TikTok star fatally shoots stalker who blew open family's front door with shotgun. Dad likely in the clear due to stand your ground law.



Imagine if your daughter, only 13, downloads TikTok and then after a year nabs more than a million followers — most of them male — who enjoy her lip-sync and dance clips.

Imagine one of her fans, an 18-year-old man, keeps trying to contact her, then buys photos of her — and even her cellphone number — from her friends, which he uses to call and text her.

Imagine this guy tells your daughter what he would pay for photos of her feet and rear end. Imagine if this fan sends your daughter hundreds of dollars in the hope that she will unblock him.

Imagine that you text this guy, inform him your daughter is a minor, and tell him stop contacting her.

Now imagine it doesn't work — and only gets worse. And in a a terrifying and deadly manner.

The aforementioned scenario is exactly what happened to TikTok star Ava Majury and her parents and siblings in the summer of 2020, according to the New York Times.

What are the details?

Indeed, Ava's 18-year-old stalker — Eric Rohan Justin of Ellicott City, Maryland — was getting downright scary. The Times said text messages that made their way to Ava indicated that he asked one of her male classmates if he had access to a “strap,” or gun, and shared plans to assault her — and added, “i could just breach the door with a shotgun i think.”

That's exactly what he did.

Early on July 10 that year, Justin showed up at the Majury home in Naples, Florida, and blew open the front door with a shotgun, the Times said.

With that, Ava’s father, Rob Majury — a retired police lieutenant who's the one who ordered Justin to stop contacting his daughter — chased after him but fell to the ground, the paper said.

When Majury got back to his house, he grabbed a gun and stood guard at the front door in case Justin returned before police arrived, the Times said.

Sure enough, Justin came back, the paper said.

Majury said he ordered him to drop his shotgun, but Majury fired when Justin instead pointed the weapon at him, the Times said.

By sunrise Justin lay dying, the paper reported.

Majury told the Times that police have assured him that under Florida's “stand your ground” law — which outlines legal use of deadly force — he was not subject to prosecution.

The aftermath

Despite the world of trouble Ava and her family experienced after she rose to fame on TikTok, the 14-year-old is still active on the popular social media platform, the paper said.

The Times noted that Ava's notoriety has translated into thousands of dollars in sponsorship deals and interest from Hollywood, including from reality TV producers.

“I have three TikTok accounts, so I could have one brand come to me and be like, ‘Oh, I’ll do $1,000 for one video on your main account,’ and I’ll be like, ‘Oh great, I have two other accounts that are different types of people on there,’” Ava explained to the paper. “So altogether, I’m making $1,700 off just my name, because I opened up three accounts rather than just building off one.”

Her dad added to the Times that Ava's "creations, her contacts, her videos became such a big part of her that to take it away would have been hard." Her mother Kim noted to the Times that "we chose what’s best for our family. We know there are going to be two sides, and some people won’t understand.″⁣

Still, not long after her dad shot her stalker dead, Ava got messages from a man who referred to her as “baby girl" and offered to pay $1,000 a month for her phone number, the paper said, adding that Ava's mom and dad found out his name matches the name of a registered sex offender who had been arrested for soliciting a 14-year-old girl.

What's more, Ava told her parents that the boy who received Justin’s menacing messages was following and watching her, the Times said, and another classmate recorded a video of himself firing at a shooting range and sent the clip to Ava.

Finally Ava withdrew from school this month, the paper said, and now she attends class from home.

Nevertheless her mom told the Times she doesn't want “sick individuals” to force Ava to shun social media: “Why should we allow them to stop her? Maybe she’s meant to bring awareness to all this."

(H/T: The Daily Wire)