Heroic Acts Protect Family

Imagine you are planning a family Thanksgiving and the week before a shooter comes into your home intent on killing you. Now imagine finding out he already killed another beloved family member. This is not make believe. This is what happened to a young couple that I love like they are my own kids, Scott and Tiffany.

Tiffany's half sister broke up with her boyfriend (who I will refer to as Evil Guy), but he did not think that was what she really wanted. So Evil Guy broke into her father's house, kidnapping her at knife point. She was able to escape a day or so later and went back home. But Evil Guy had warned her that he would kill her family if she left, and sure enough, he showed up at her dad's house to do just that. As the girl escaped (thanks to a warning) to Scott and Tiffany's, her father met the young man in the front yard to try to talk him down. For his efforts the man was shot dead in his own yard.

Using her father's cell phone, Evil Guy called the girl and told her that he was coming for her. They attempted to escape the house but he arrived too soon. So Tiff, her baby, and her sister hid in the attic. Three other female friends hid in other parts of the house. Scott prepared for the arrival and before long a gun battle ensued in which Scott was shot in the abdomen.

Despite the angry wound, Scott was able to wrestle with Evil Guy for about 20 minutes until the police arrived. Scott was prepared to give his life to protect his wife, baby, and sister-in-law. He is an honest-to-God hero in my book. They captured the man and the family is doing its best to heal from the horrific ordeal. Just imagine the horror and fear they were subjected to by this terrible man--not knowing if they would survive the next few minutes.

And where, you ask, were the police? We don't know. Despite repeated 911 calls from Scott and the girls, no car was dispatched until the alarm company contacted them after the break-in. Had they come when first called, they would have arrived at Scott's house before Evil Guy. He would not have been shot. The women would not have had to listen to the battle, fearing for all their lives.

But the good news is that there was only one fatality instead of seven due to the heroism of two fathers prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of their families. One did give his life; the other will survive the belly wound. The emotional scars will take much longer to heal for the family. Please pray for them.

I am very proud Scott is one of "my boys". His courage was great. Ambroze Redmoon said "courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear". To Scott, his family was that something more important. I take my hat off to him.