Heroic Action Saved Lives
We all remember the murderous attack at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, MD, back in June of this year. Without warning, a gunman, with an apparent long-standing grudge against the paper, entered the newsroom there and began firing. As he did, 65-year-old veteran reporter Wendi Winters rose from her desk and, carrying a trash can in front of her, charged the shooter. Sadly, in so doing, she was killed. But her newsroom colleagues credited her act with saving the lives of others, by momentarily distracting the gunman, allowing some to hide or run from the building. Unfortunately, five employees were shot and killed (including Ms. Winters), while six others in that room survived.
Ms. Winters had recently attended a training course dealing with active shooter situations. The instructor indicated the three options open to those at risk: Run, hide, or fight if there is no alternative. On that fateful day, immediately sensing that third option as her only choice, Ms. Winters chose to fight, thereby allowing other colleagues the critical, split-second opportunity to hide or run. Under those terrifying circumstances, ones that we all hope never to experience, no question, Wendi Winters’ act, regrettably her last, was truly remarkable and heroic. By her selfless, life-saving effort, she has rightly earned a very special place in heaven