Wife of Arlington shooting suspect believes Good Samaritan ‘died a hero'

The wife of the man accused of murdering a Good Samaritan outside an Arlington Walgreens spoke on camera for the first time since the shooting.

Police say Ricci Bradden, a Fort Hood soldier, shot and killed Good Samaritan T.J. Antell when he confronted his wife, Quinisha Johnson, at work.

Johnson knew she had a voicemail message on her phone from her husband from Saturday but didn’t listen to it until Wednesday. She thinks it may have included a warning for what was about to happen.   

“Why are you not answering the phone? I'm very curious to know why you're not answering the phone,” Bradden voicemail to Johnson said. “I'm sorry... for what's about to happen."

"He felt like he had to control everything,” Johnson said. “He would tell me this. He'd tell me he knows he's controlling and he's trying to get help. And that's what made me stay."

Johnson says she was shot by Bradden before he murdered Antell, who tried to help her.

The couple met in high school seven years ago. Johnson says the rocky relationship was sometimes violent but married him anyway on March 18.

Johnson says they argued over Facebook photo she posted of herself. She says Bradden later apologized.  But the subject resurfaced on Monday when he showed up at her job.

"He started saying, ‘You like attention. Attention from your husband is just not enough. You have to get attention from other people. You're always going to be that way,’” Johnson remembered.

As she recovers from a gunshot wound to the ankle, Johnson says she's most regretful that a man she never met lost his life trying to stop Bradden from leaving the scene.

“He was trying to help. Not just me, because Ricci was shooting into the store. It could've hit anybody. That man was just trying to stop him,” said Johnson. “He lost his life trying to protect other people. He died a hero."

Johnson says she will divorce Bradden and will testify against him if there is a trail for Antell’s death.

Bradden remains in jail with a bond set a $500,000.