A former Ohio attorney walked into a crowded restaurant, pointed a loaded handgun at his ex-wife and tried to fire, according to prosecutors, but one small detail appears to have changed everything: the gun’s manual safety was still engaged.
Gun rights activist and YouTuber Colion Noir used the disturbing surveillance footage as an example of how a manual safety can become a factor under extreme stress, while an ABC News report included in his video showed the moment restaurant workers and patrons rushed the gunman after the weapon failed to fire.
ABC News correspondent Whit Johnson reported that the former lawyer, identified as 43-year-old Matthew Exton, was later convicted on multiple charges, including attempted murder.
The fact that the gun did not discharge may have saved his ex-wife’s life. It also gave a nearby waiter just enough time to make a decision that could have protected everyone else in the restaurant.
Gun Failed To Fire
Johnson described footage shown in court in which Exton entered the packed Ohio restaurant, approached his ex-wife and pointed the handgun toward her.
He then appeared to try to fire.
The weapon did not discharge because its safety remained on, Johnson reported.
A waiter rushed toward Exton from behind and grabbed him before other patrons joined in, bringing him to the floor.
The waiter later described just how frightening those seconds were.
“The only thing I was thinking was, ‘I’m going to die,’” he said in the ABC report. “The whole time I thought we were all going to be shot.”
That reaction makes the footage especially striking. The waiter apparently had no plan or special advantage; he simply recognized that people around him were in immediate danger and acted during the brief window created by the failed shot.
Noir Focuses On The Safety
Noir said he wanted to look at the incident from a different angle, using it to discuss why he is cautious when first-time gun buyers insist that their firearm must have a manual safety.
He said he understands the instinct because he once felt the same way.
When someone is unfamiliar with firearms, Noir explained, a gun can feel unpredictable, almost as though it might somehow fire on its own. A visible safety lever can therefore offer a sense of reassurance.
His first firearm, he said, was a Ruger SR40, and having a manual safety was one of his requirements at the time.
But Noir argued that people often underestimate what stress can do to memory and coordination.
His concern is not that a safety itself is bad, but that someone who relies on one without repeated training might forget to disengage it when seconds matter.
In this case, that mistake happened to the alleged attacker rather than a person defending himself, and the outcome appears to have benefited everyone else in the room.
A Training Mistake He Says He Made Himself
Noir said his view was shaped partly by his own experience in scenario-based training.
During one exercise, he was moving through a mock home with a training handgun after deliberately engaging the safety beforehand. He knew exactly what he had done and expected to switch it off when a simulated threat appeared.
When that moment came, however, he pulled the trigger and nothing happened.
“I knew the safety was on,” Noir said. “I put it there myself and I still forgot.”
He argued that stress narrows attention and makes small details easier to miss, particularly when someone is focused on what appears to be an immediate threat.
That personal example is useful because it moves the discussion away from theory. Noir was not describing somebody who did not know how the firearm worked; he was describing himself forgetting a step he had intentionally planned only moments earlier.
Waiter Gets A Split-Second Opening
Noir returned to the restaurant footage and emphasized the advantage Exton allegedly had before the failed shot.
According to Noir, the gunman knew where he was going, knew whom he intended to confront and entered the restaurant on his own terms, yet still apparently failed to disengage the safety.
“Think about what that waiter got to work with,” Noir said. “No gun, no plan, just his hands and a decision.”
The failed shot gave the waiter an opportunity to intervene before another attempt could be made.
Johnson’s report showed officers arriving afterward and taking Exton into custody.
The case later went to trial, where a jury convicted him of attempted murder along with other charges.
That legal result is also important because the firearm’s failure to discharge did not erase the alleged intent behind what happened.
Noir Says Training Matters More Than Reassurance
Noir distinguished between different kinds of firearm safety mechanisms, noting that not every one requires the shooter to consciously move a lever.
His criticism centered mainly on external manual safeties that have to be disengaged before firing.
He stressed that he was not telling viewers to avoid firearms equipped with them. Instead, his argument was that owners who choose such a gun should practice with it enough that operating the safety becomes familiar rather than something they have to stop and remember.
Noir also said certain handgun designs make their safeties easier to operate because of where the lever sits and how the shooter naturally grips the firearm, but his broader message remained the same: equipment alone cannot replace familiarity.
It is an interesting contrast at the heart of this case. The same feature that might create hesitation for someone trying to defend himself appears to have created a lifesaving delay when the person holding the gun was allegedly trying to commit murder.
Conviction Followed The Restaurant Attack
ABC’s Whit Johnson reported that Exton, who had been an attorney at the time of the incident, was convicted on multiple charges including attempted murder.
Noir pointed out that the engaged safety did not shield him from criminal responsibility.
As he put it, the fact that the firearm failed to fire did not change what prosecutors said Exton was trying to do when he pointed it and attempted to pull the trigger.
For Noir, the case became both a criminal story and a lesson about how people behave under pressure.
He said anyone choosing to own or carry a firearm with a manual safety should understand that simply knowing the lever exists is not the same as being able to operate it instinctively when adrenaline takes over.
In the Toledo restaurant, one forgotten lever appears to have created the fraction of time needed for a waiter and several customers to act.
The gun stayed silent, and in a crowded room where Johnson reported people feared they might all be shot, that tiny mechanical detail may have made the biggest difference of all.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
