Utahn was shot as he tried to help

Brett Richards was killed by armed bandits in Guatemala when he tried to stop them from attacking a Book of Mormon tour leader, a couple who witnessed the fatal shooting said Friday.

Ed and Patty Allen, who arrived home in Utah from the tour Friday afternoon, described the violent ambush of their tour bus in a remote area of Guatemala on Wednesday that cost the life of Richards, a 52-year-old Ogden architect.

"Brett Richards got up and tried, tried to help, and they shot him right here," an emotional Patty Allen told reporters at the Salt Lake International Airport, pointing to her midsection. "And they killed him."

The 13 members of the tour were ordered to put their heads down, she said.

"I was right behind Brett when he was killed," Patty Allen said. "He was trying to help (Book of Mormon Tours leader) Joseph Allen, who was being hit with the end of a gun, and that's when he got shot. They shot him through the window."

Ed Allen, who is Richards' cousin but not related to Joseph Allen, said "he was trying to knock the gun out of the way."

Patty Allen said all she remembered Richards saying during the confrontation was, " 'I've been shot.' Then he fell into his seat next to his wife and collapsed on his wife. He said, 'I'm going.' "

Richards died as he was being taken to a hospital about 25 miles from the site of the attack. The group was about 125 miles west of Guatemala City, en route to a site near the Mexican border some associate with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The bus, which had been forced off the road by a pickup truck carrying five or six young armed men, was commandeered and driven into the jungle, where the tour members were robbed of their money, jewelry and watches.

"Brett was pretty bad," Patty Allen said. "We were worried about him. We were anxious to get help for him, but they asked us each individually to get out of the bus." The tour members were told not to look at their captors.

"We were face-down with our hands tied behind our backs, and we honestly thought at that point in time we were just going to all be killed. . . . We are so grateful to be alive. We are so grateful to be home."

The tour, which began Jan. 2, was scheduled to end Saturday. Six other members of the tour were attempting to return home late Friday.

Richards' body may be released today to his family members still in Guatemala.