Mass shooting at a church in Michigan stopped after he is run over and killed by parishioners.

 

Police stand near a truck, presumably the one used to stop the attack. AP. 

A mass shooting attempt at the CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne Michigan was stopped after the attacker was run down by a parishioner and shot by security. AP. The attacker, a 31 year old man, was sighted walking towards the church armed with a rifle and handgun and wearing a tactical vest. He opened fire, wounding one person, but a parishioner, (in some sources identified as a Deacon) ran him down with his Ford F-150, despite the shooter attacking his truck. This allowed two armed security guards to gun down and kill the attacker. No motive has been released for the attack, but he was described as having a mental health episode. 

My Comment:

Another example of a mass shooting being put down by civilians. The heroics here are the difference between only one person besides the shooter getting hurt and a horror show. The folks involved here showed extreme bravery and I can only hope that I would act similar if I was in the same situation. 

The driver of the truck, which I haven't been able to determine if they were a Deacon or not, did the right thing. By running down this driver he gave the guards time to shoot and kill the attacker. And it's very possible that he might have saved lives even if those guards weren't there. 

I'd also point out that the guards probably are volunteers, not employed security guards. They showed courage here too. They might have been able to stop the shooter on their own, but the person driving the truck absolutely helped as well. 

It does go to show that Churches are often not the soft target they used to be. Folks have wizened up and have taken steps to protect themselves and their community from the threat of violence. Many churches have volunteer security teams at this point and some even have professional guards. Attacking a church like this is not a good idea in areas where folks can defend themselves. And I guess they still can in Michigan. 

We don't really know what the motive is for this incident but I am guessing it was just a lone nut that had a grudge or just went insane. I know folks were freaking out about the idea that this was some kind of Iranian attack on US Soil, but given the demographics of the attacker, that seems unlikely. The article said he was White, and there are rumors that he was a local kook, that was upset with this church for some reason. I'm guessing that this was just a run of the mill attempted mass shooting, not anything at all related to Iran. 

Regardless, this is a good argument of what you should do when there is a mass shooter. Attacking them back is better than letting yourself get killed. Using any weapon at hand, be it a CCW pistol or your pickup truck, can absolutely save not only your own life but the lives of potentially dozens of people.