I understand why Willeford is feeling very out-of-sorts. Any reasonably moral man, upon inflicting an injury or death upon another, will ALWAYS question whether he did the right thing, whether he could have done something differently that would have prevented such harm. Such are the questions that moral people ask themselves, knowing that they aren’t perfect.
However, I believe that he should take GREAT comfort in the fact that as soon as he confronted that monster, the shooting of genuine innocents stopped. There were over 20 people who were wounded who, if Willeford had not shown up and started shooting, would have been executed at point-blank range, probably within the next 2-3 minutes after that. Who else might have been murdered, in the absence of Willeford, is unknown...but there was at least a real possibility that others would have died (if no one else, at least police officers would have likely been in a firefight with him at some later point).
I know that I’m speaking from the cheap seats here, but it seems pretty evident to me that Willeford was put in the place he was, at the time he was, with the training and weapon he had, for the purpose of saving those 20-odd people from certain death. The remainder of their lives, and the lives of any descendants of those people conceived after this incident will be credit to his actions on that day.
I hope and pray that G-d gives Mr. Willeford all of the comfort and peace of mind that he needs to deal with this incident. He deserves no less (and, probably, a great deal more).
“but there was at least a real possibility that others would have died”
In Mr. Willeford’s interview with Stephen Crowder, he said the shooter’s vehicle was full of weapons and ammunition when he went off the road. In the direction he was headed there’s another Baptist church just a mile or two ahead. Who knows what plans, if any, he might’ve had in mind for that place?