A Hero Among Us

Since the tragic shootings yesterday at the two churches in Colorado I have been intrigued by the story of Jeanne Assam, the volunteer civilian security guard who took down the shooter at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

I watched an online interview with her – her first since the shootings – this afternoon, and came away with the knowledge that standing before me was a genuine modern American hero ... and a true soldier of God.

Many in the media will downplay her heroism, for reasons that are obvious to those of us who are school in their anti-liberty, anti-Second Amendment, anti-Christian bias. But be not mistaken: Jeanne Assam is indeed an American hero.

Assam, and the other dozen or so civilian security personnel at New Life Church, are all members of the New Life congregation, about half of whom are armed, and all of whom have undergone background checks, have successfully completed gun safety courses, and have CCW permits. They all volunteer because, as worshippers, they have a 'sense of ownership' at New Life. It is as if they are protecting their own home and family from intruders.

Senior Pastor at New Life, Brady Boyd, stated that Assam came to his office at 7:30 Sunday morning and informed him about the earlier shooting incident in Arvada. She strongly suggested additional security for the day's services at New Life. Pastor Boyd credits Assam for the heightened security, and for thus preventing significantly more bloodshed.

When twenty-three-year-old Matthew Murray began shooting in the parking lot of the New Life Church a few hours later, all chaos broke loose. Two sisters, Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachael Works, 16, were killed as they were getting into their van following the early service. Their father, David Works, 51, suffered two gunshot wounds -- one to the abdomen and one to the groin -- and is listed in fair condition at a local hospital.

Murray wore body armor, and was reportedly equipped with sufficient firepower (some accounts report that he was carrying as many as five hundred rounds) to bring down hundreds of people. For those who may believe that this estimate is inflated, consider the fact that reports indicate that approximately seven thousand people were tightly packed within and just outside the church at the time, and each round of Murray’s rifle ammo, if properly placed, might certainly have been capable of taking down several people. The potentiality of hundreds of victims was not at all out of the realm of possibility.

During her interview today, Jeanne Assam stated that she attends one of the morning services and then volunteers as a guard during a later service. She has had previous law enforcement experience, has had to draw her weapon countless times in tense situations related to her law enforcement experience, but has never shot anyone before.

I was deeply impressed by her humility, her quiet intelligence, and her Christian outlook. At the outset of her comments she stated, 'I want to extend my sympathy to the families of the victims, and of the gunman. And I mean that very sincerely.'

In describing yesterday’s sequence of events at New Life Church she reflected:

The shots were so loud that I thought he was inside. But he wasn’t even inside yet, he was just entering the church. There was chaos as the parishioners ran in all directions.

I saw him coming through the doors and I took cover. I came out of cover and identified myself, engaged him and took him down. I knew that I could not let this man harm any more people. I said, 'God, this is you.' I asked Him to be with me and He never left my side.

I want to do His will and not my will. Where I was weak, God made me strong. He filled me, He guided me, He protected me, and many other people.

Assam fired off about a dozen shots, three of which managed to circumvent Murray's body armor, and all of which were fired while he was moving in her direction.

When she was asked whether the previous day’s tragedy had prevented her from getting a good night’s sleep on Sunday night, she replied that she hadn’t slept a wink.

Assam is unmarried, and currently works for Messenger International, a Christian ministry organization. In connection with her affiliation there, she has found herself at a crossroads in her life and has been seeking to know God's will for her ... asking Him to provide direction and guidance. In an effort to clear her mind in that endeavor, she had been fasting for three days, with the support of other members of the ministry. Sunday was the third day of that fast, and she was in a somewhat weakened state as a result.

Toward the end of the interview, she was asked, 'What was in your mind when he went down?' and she responded:

She continued ... 'I've had some quiet time with God and have had a lot of people pray with me. I'm even more in awe of Him than I was before.'

It is people like Jeanne Assam -- armed, law-abiding citizens in all walks of life -- church members, teachers, students, pilots, factory workers, white-collar workers, etc. -- who will prevent such future shedding of innocent blood. Law enforcement generally arrives long after such tragedies occur – such as occurred in the recent shooting at the Omaha mall, where the killer accomplished his mission in less than five minutes, and the police didn't arrive until the mall was awash in innocent blood.

The Second Amendment proved its value this weekend when a legally armed, courageous, cool-headed American citizen saved the lives of many of her countrymen.

Someone wrote to me, ‘I guess they [the mainstream media] will never forgive her for stopping what could have been the most news-worthy bloodbath in history! They were probably orgasmic over the thought of hundreds of Christians gunned down in church in America.

As much as we'd like to believe it isn't so, I think there is more than a grain of truth in what he said.

The media are reporting now that Murray supposedly committed suicide. And this report is receiving exponentially more coverage than any previous reports of the details of Amass’ heroics.

Murray was a man who has been quoted as 'hating Christians', who entered a church armed to the teeth, with several weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and grenades, presumably in order to take out as many believers as possible. Immediately upon entering the church, he was confronted by an armed, determined woman, who shot and hit him multiple times, and he still had the ammo, and the ability, to return fire ... and yet turned his weapon on himself? A media-created, agenda-driven fairy tale, if I ever heard one.

As for our hero having been fired from the Minneapolis police department for lying about the fact that she had sworn at a bus driver while in the process of handling an incident on a city bus ... the Minneapolis P.D. appears to follow the kind of politically correct dictates that handcuff their officers and allow criminals to call the shots. Thank God the pastor at New Life Church doesn't share their law enforcement philosophy.

Let the mainstream media dig up … or fabricate … or magnify all out of proportion … all the 'dirt' they like on this woman. To rational, informed Americans, such tactics simply serve to demean their credibility yet again. If it weren't for the fact that they are still capable of swaying the uninformed American couch potatoes among us, their obsessive, single-minded rantings would be laughable.

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

You may be listening to conservative outlets, or perhaps you heard only early reports of her actions. But, since this morning, more and more stories are surfacing that are aimed a degrading or diminishing her heroism.

I have read a cross-section of coverage via Google News. How the stories are "aimed" is a judgment call, and my judgment differs from yours. I don't see any animosity toward Ms. Amman nor any sympathy for Mr. Murray. Overall impression: Amman was an imperfect person (as are we all) who did a perfect thing when her skill and experience and education all met. Murray met her at the corner of Crazy Street and Stupid Drive.

The media are reporting now that Murray supposedly committed suicide. Yet that report defies all rational logic.

Precisely how? Suicide is the usual endgame for spree killers. The North Hollywood bank robbers had a plan to take themselves out rather than face capture. One died by his own hand, the other at the hand of the LAPD.

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris planned to die. The Virginia Tech shooter suicided. What you're describing as an anomaly is, in point of fact, the norm. The spree killers who don't kill themselves run out the door and force the police to kill them. Suicide by cop.

Jeanne Assam is a hero in the highest order. The VietNam Vet did his part and I consider him a hero, too. He helped to distract the guy a bit...then comes along Ms Assam...well trained...and did what some men couldn’t do [2 armed security guards guns drawn and wouldn’t fire]...the way she walked toward the perp continuing to fire knowing he was up tight and wounded up little likely hood he could hit her...is the classic defensive approach mode and you do unload a clip...you’ll take the guy down just by the bullets hitting his protective gear...the force of the bullets do that...she again warned him...to stop...he wouldn’t...today he’s dead. I’ll be surprised it the perp even had an opportunity to take himself out...doesn’t really matter...she stopped the killing. Another American Hero...[and there are alot of men FReepers around here extremely impressed with her and that ability]

I agree with you that most mass murderers of Murray's ilk do not intend to come out of their rampage alive, and many even die by their own hand. It would follow that Murray did not intend to walk out of New Life Church. He intended for the police to take him down, following his massacre of possibly hundreds of worshippers, or he intended to shoot himself if cornered and unarmed or out of ammunition.

At the same time, why would a man on such a 'mission' arm himself with several weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and grenades, shoot only four people outside of the church on his way in, and then, upon entering the church and finding himself confronted by an armed woman, suddenly abandon his obvious plans to take down as many people as possible, and turn one of his weapons on himself? If he had a round at the ready, why would he not have used it to take down the armed person who was standing in the way of his completing his 'mission'?

He surely intended to die -- but if he were to die by his own hand, that event logically would have occurred after he had exhausted all possibilities of taking as many innocents along with him.

I do not believe Murray's death was self-inflicted. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition were not brought into that church on a lark. And he certainly didn't have a change of heart in midstream. He was taken out by someone who was aware of his plans and was not going to allow them to see fruition, even if it meant losing her own life in the process.

~ joanie

These recent shootings have taught me something: at some point, the shooter may hesitate- got a jam, or spent all shells, time for a new magazine. How much time will it take to re-arm? 4,5,6 seconds?

In High School I ran 40 yards in 4.1 seconds. Nearly 40 yrs. later, it'd probably take a couple more seconds, but that only means I'd have to be closer. But, I'm bigger since high school and when I get to you, it'll hurt more. You and me both.

This 'window' of opportunity will present itself if the perp is trying to clear a jam or changing a mag. Look for it.

Throw a purse, throw anything you can get your hands on at the perp during this time, if that's all you can do, for if nothing else you'll give someone a few more seconds to take him down.

We're talking crazy people here. Their logic is not our logic. When Assam ended Murray's batshit crusade, he checked out before she could make the choice for him.

Possibly the most sensible, useful, piece of writing I have read on this subject.

Every American who might find himself in such a deadly situation (which means every American) should read and seriously reflect on your advice.

We too often figure that these kinds of unexpected tragedies only happen to the other guy, so, when such a horrifying threat rears its head in front of us, there is no time for weighing ‘pros and cons’. We need to put ourselves in the positions of potential victims, such as those at New Life this weekend, before we actually become one, and have a plan ready to put into effect in a matter of a few seconds, if we're fortunate.

Your ‘window of opportunity’ advice is priceless.

Thank you!

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

My understanding is that Jeanne got at least two bullets in this guy as she charged him. They knocked him down and she was approaching him, telling him to not move. At that point, there was another shot. To this point it has been my understanding that Jeanne fired that shot when she saw him make a movement towards something in his coat...but that could very well be fog of war...he very well could have off'ed himself there at the end.

You know what? I don't care at this point. She, Jeanne, stopped this deranged killer...that's the fact. At the end, she may have shot and missed, she may have not shot...at the end, the guy died precisely because of Jeanne's heroism.

Either way, the public was saved the cost of confinement and trial...and this killer went on to stand before his Maker, and that judgement is in His hands. Jeanne saved many lives, Jeanne was a heroine here, plain and simple, and IMHO, placed there by the hand of God through His inspiration to her, which she had placed herself in a positon to hear, and which she then acted upon.

If this was a case of "death by armed woman security guard", or death by his own hand because she had stopped him, or death by her final shot...the results are the same, and for the same reasons. That's how I see it, and how I will pass it on to my kids, grand kids...and if I live long enough, to my great grand kids. Though I think the two intervening generations will make sure it gets passed on that way in any case.

Jeff, as a sterling example of the twenty-first century American patriot, it goes without saying that you would see to it that your children, your grandchildren, and, God willing, your great grandchildren hear from your mouth the truth about what occurred at the New Life Church last Sunday. But the sad truth is that probably ninety-five percent of your fellow citizens would not embark on such a noble mission. The majority of them would not seek out the truth themselves, let alone see to it that their progeny were taught it.

One of the reasons the mainstream media get away with their agenda-driven lies and distortions is that there are too few in sufficiently powerful positions to call them on the carpet. Thanks to the internet, and talk radio, that is occurring more and more these days (as was most recently evident in the resounding defeat of the 'immigration reform' bill), but the mainstream media are still succeeding in disseminating agenda-driven lies whose results are influencing the minds of the 90%+ uninformed among us ... and, worse, re-writing history. All one has to do is ask the average man on the street about his views on global warming. Rather than telling you that it is a politically-invented power grab, designed to rob our children of their individual liberties, he will launch into a memorized diatribe about how humanity must stop being so globally selfish.

Whether or not Murray committed suicide (and I highly doubt it), the media will spin this tragedy to minimize the role Amass played in the outcome. They will seek to demean her character at every turn, and they will ultimately downplay, if not eliminate, the role that the heroic application of the Second Amendment played in saving the lives of hundreds of Christian worshippers here in America.

As one FReeper wrote yesterday, ‘I guess they [the mainstream media] will never forgive her for stopping what could have been the most news-worthy bloodbath in history! They were probably orgasmic over the thought of hundreds of Christians gunned down in church in America.’

As unpalatable as that statement may seem, I do believe that there are some in decision-making positions in the media who feel exactly that way. Their love for their fellow man is too often trumped by their desire for a powerful story and their need to fulfill an obsessive political agenda.

We need to continually hold their feet to the fire, without compromise, whenever a lie or distortion threatens to create ‘history’ out of whole cloth – because, although we will necessarily see to it that those within earshot of us have access to the truth, we must consistently remind ourselves that the majority of Americans do not take the time to ferret it out -- and future young Americans sitting in future history classes cannot survive on a rancid diet of left-leaning lies.

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

Joanie, I agree with everything you wrote.

It is true that the MSM and their abettors in the DNC and the left, and all too many who would like to call themsleves conservatves, will downplay the clear heroine role that Jeanne played as an inspired Christian woman who sought God's council through fasting andd prayer, received it, and then acted upon it, placing herself, with her firearm where God wanted her and then taking no thought of her own life to confront and defeat this deranged killer.

Her faith, her willingness to act on it, and her understanding of and use of the 2nd amendment are the key stroies here...but are points our internal enemies will ignore and gloss and smooth ove4r.

With that, I go back to my commnets in post 79, because those people amongst us, who oppose the American ideals and foundational principles, do not understand, believe, or count on that same God in Heaven working through the rest of us, even as He did through Jeanne...and therein lies their ultimate defeat:

It is up to each of us, through whatever means are provided by that same Hand of Providence for our disposal, to spread the word of this occurance ourselves.

That same God in Heaven, our Heavenly Father who heard Jeanne's heartfelt cries for direction, and then provided it to her after her fasting and prayer in such a marvelous way, will not ignore our own cries and appeals...and efforts!

As the Shamnesty proposal went down in flames due to the public cry over it, we can serve as instruments in God's hands in raising the type of awareness this information, this occurance, this witness before God and man, deserves.

Emails, forums, talk shows, cell phones, the internet as a whole...avenues have been opened to us at this time in history precisely, I believe, by that same merciful God, to allow us to circumvent and get around the tyrants and corruption around us as surely as Jeanne's footsteps were guided to circumvent the tyrant that she faced. If we will have and then exhibit the faith that she did, then He will also guide our footsteps and there is no telling what good will come of it.

God bless you and yours Joanie. Merry Christmas and the best of the season and the upcoming New Year to you.

So on goes the drumbeat that this is gonna happen. When? After a week, a month or a year, when no one's talking about the story any more? After her inevitable book is at the top of the Amazon charts? After she's been elected to some office?

You're looking for monsters under the bed and threatening a backlash to a phenomenon that simply isn't there.

I believe (and this is just my opinion) you are missing part of Joanie's point.

There is no doubt that jeanne is getting press. But the salient points, particularly those that could lead to an effective front and methodology for combatting this type of crime...namely arming people at the potnetial scenes of these attempts...and her Christian faith leading her to be in that position, are not being covered.

To me, those are the clear messages of this occurance, and an abject contrast to other events, like in Omaha, or Columbine.

Where yoy have had armed citizens present (here, the mall in Utah, the school several years ago in Kentucky) the carnage was halted early on with either a dead perp, or one who surrendered...and far fewer innocent dead. Where you do not have that, the killing usually goes on until the deranged killer is saited and then kills himself.

Just my thoughts.

If you don't recognize that Christianity is regularly demeaned by the MSM, and the power of the second amendment, as in the value of the right to keep and bear arms by individual citizens (and the positive results that can occur because that right is exercised) is always underplayed by the media, you are wearing blinders.

The media's coverage of this event is every bit as biased as their coverage of everything else. How many times have you heard or seen the heroine's speech where she gives God all the credit for what she did? How many times have you heard reference to the fact that her RKBA saved hundreds of lives? If you've heard either one more than once or twice, you're listening to different media outlets than most of us.

Their spin on what happened in Colorado Springs last weekend is a perfect example of their anti Christian, anti second amendment bias.

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