โmy God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.โ
2 Samuel 22:3-4
With all the political bickering we can all use a lot more of Godโs word in our lives
The gun came out without warning.
April 30, 2019. Inside Kennedy Hall at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, students were sitting in class when Trystan Terrell opened fire.
Screams. Desks overturning. Chaos exploding in a room that seconds earlier had been ordinary.
Twenty-one-year-old Riley Howell did not run.
He didnโt duck. He didnโt hide behind a chair.
He charged. Full sprint. Straight at the sh*oter.
He tackled him. At point-blank range, he was sh*t.
But the tackle knocked the gunman off balance. It disrupted his aim. It stopped the momentum of the attack long enough for others to escape and for police to rush in.
Classmates later said his actions saved their lives.
He d*ed on the classroom floor. He was 21.
A history major. An outdoorsman. A son.
The news cycle moved fast. Headlines. Vigils. Candlelight. Tears.
But something unusual followed. Though he was a civilian, the United States Army honored him with full military funeral honors. An honor guard stood at attention. A flag-draped coffin. ROTC cadets saluted. His family received the folded flag.
The ceremony looked like that of a fallen soldier.
Because in that classroom, he had acted like one.
He saw danger. He ran toward it. He absorbed it. Many students walked out of Kennedy 236 alive that day.
He did not. Some people train their whole lives to be brave.
He had seconds. And he used them all.
"Riley Howellโs bravery changed everything.