Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday gave Texas’ highest civilian honor to a 71-year-old man who shot and killed an armed attacker at a church in December.
Abbott gave Jack Wilson the Governor’s Medal of Courage during a ceremony in Austin, calling him a hero for stopping the shooter at a church in the Fort Worth-area town of White Settlement.
Wilson, a firearms instructor who trained the West Freeway Church volunteer security team, shot the attacker once in the head after he opened fire with a shotgun in the church’s sanctuary. Wilson’s single shot quickly ended the attack in which two parishioners, 64-year-old Anton “Tony” Wallace and 67-year-old Richard White, were killed.
“When events arise, you’re going to do one of two things. You’re either going to step up and do what’s right or walk away. And I’m not one to walk away,” Wilson said in accepting the medal at the Texas Governor’s Mansion.
Authorities identified the attacker as Keith Thomas Kinnunen, 43 , who had a history of criminal and psychological trouble.
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(AP)
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4 Responses
This story settles the debate whether Yidden should be armed in shuls on Shabbos.
Yes, providing that they are well trained, which is a lot more than a license to carry and occasional range practice.
This man is a firearms instructor and a retired FBI agent, not your common congregant, and he knew exactly how to react on the moment without endangering others.
Little One, you are wrong: Mr Wilson was never an FBI agent or a police officer, he just was at one time an auxiliary volunteer sheriffs resource officer. And why people like you always assume that citizens who carry conceal guns do not have [roper training?