Randolph Corrigan was doing what a good employee does: protecting the place he worked. On the afternoon of April 25, the 61-year-old Costco employee approached a man attempting to enter the store with what witnesses described as a weapon with a drum magazine visibly protruding from his pocket, and told him he could not come inside.
Moments later, Corrigan was on the pavement outside the Strongsville, Ohio store, struck by multiple gunshots. He was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Strongsville police responded to the Costco on Royalton Road at approximately 5:45 p.m. following reports of gunfire. They arrived to find Corrigan down in the parking area, wounded multiple times. Officers began first aid immediately.
According to authorities, witnesses had observed the suspect — identified as Christian M. Bryant, 22, of Fort Worth, Texas — approaching the store entrance with the weapon’s drum magazine clearly visible.
When Corrigan confronted him and denied him entry, Bryant’s response was captured in court documents obtained by WJW: he fired one round, then, after a brief pause, “fired many more, one after another, with no pause.”
Corrigan sustained gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen, and right arm. He was initially conscious and able to respond to questions, but his condition deteriorated rapidly. Bystanders who witnessed the shooting stayed with him, with at least one person applying pressure to his wounds until first responders arrived.
He did not survive.
The Suspect’s Account — and What Police Found
After his arrest, Bryant told police that “a white man approached me with a knife for no reason” and that he “defended myself.” He repeated the claim during a Monday court appearance, stating, “This man approached me with a knife.”
Police confirmed that Corrigan did have a pocket knife on him at the time of the encounter. Whether that detail will factor into Bryant’s legal defense — and how prosecutors will respond to it — will be determined as the case proceeds.
Bryant appeared in Berea Municipal Court on Monday, where Judge Sean Kilbane set his bond at $5 million at the request of Strongsville police Detective Zaki Hazou. Hazou told the court that Bryant is a truck driver who was passing through Ohio and has a prior criminal record, though he is not currently on probation or parole.
The case is expected to be presented to a Cuyahoga County grand jury, where additional charges may be considered beyond the current murder count.
The Man Behind the Badge
For Randolph Corrigan’s family, the legal process is secondary to the human loss — and the portrait they have shared of who he was makes that loss all the more devastating.
A GoFundMe campaign launched to cover funeral expenses described Corrigan as someone who showed up for the people around him in every dimension of his life.
“He was selfless and caring… the sole caregiver for my 86-year-old grandmother,” the fundraiser reads. “Aside from taking care of her, he LOVED going to work at Costco, always talking about his coworkers. He would joke, laugh, and pass around sweet treats to everyone around him, making every day brighter for those he met.”
As of Tuesday evening, the campaign had raised more than $40,000 of its $55,000 goal — a reflection of how many people the story of Corrigan’s death had touched.
A victim advocate speaking on behalf of Corrigan’s family said they are seeking “justice to be served” and urged anyone who witnessed the shooting to come forward with any information that could assist the investigation.
Randolph Corrigan went to work on April 25 and did not come home. He saw something that posed a potential danger to his store and to the people inside it, and he acted on it — the way a responsible employee, a caring person, would. He was 61 years old. He took care of his 86-year-old grandmother. He brought treats to his coworkers and made their days a little brighter. He is gone now, shot multiple times in a parking lot in Strongsville, Ohio, for the act of doing his job. The man accused of killing him is in custody, facing a $5 million bond and a murder charge. Corrigan’s family is asking for justice. His community is raising money. And the question of what happens in a store parking lot when one person carries a weapon and another person tries to stop him from bringing it inside has no easy answer — only the terrible weight of what was lost.
