In the Poway synagogue shooting, we learned — eventually — that the chumbucket was stopped by a courageous man named Oscar Stewart who confronted the coward, inducing him to run. And that another man, Jonathan Morales, followed the shooter, firing the synagogue’s house gun. Much of the media is still downplaying the bravery, and attributing the end of the shooting to a “malfunction.”
This morning, I woke to news of another murderous coward, who shot and killed two people, and injuring four more at UNC Charlotte. Reports had it that the killer was stopped by campus police who apparently did respond with commendable speed.
This afternoon, I found the rest of the story, as the cliche goes.
Howell, an athletically-built young man, “took the assailant off his feet” before campus police officers arrived, Putney told reporters at an afternoon briefing. Howell was apparently the second student to be fatally shot, he said.
Howell “did exactly what we train people to do — you’re going to run, you’re going to hide and shield, or you’re going to face the assailant,” Putney said. “He did the latter (and) his sacrifice saved lives.”
That’s Riley Howell, 21. Remember his name and courage. Let the killer rot in obscurity.
And remember that fighting back is worth it. I wish Riley had survived, too, but he saved others. I hope they appreciate him.
Finally, I’d like to note that UNC Charlotte is a gun-free zone, where at best, even a person with a carry license must lock his defensive tool in a vehicle, useless. Maybe Riley would be alive if he’d had the option of something other than tackling the scumbag.
[Permission to republish this article is granted so long as it is not edited and the author and The Zelman Partisans are credited.]
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