a true hero

12 de noviembre a las 19:58

Jemel Roberson put his life on the line to stop a mass shooting at Manny’s Blue Room Bar in a Chicago suburb last night. Not only did he return fire, stopping the shooter – he chased the shooter down the street as he tried to escape, pinning him under his own body weight, and waited for the police to arrive at the scene, ensuring the safety of everyone around him. I don’t know many people who would have been so courageous. Do you? Jemel, a beloved son, father, and musician in his community church, worked as a security guard at Manny’s and dreamed of becoming a police officer one day. He was 26 years old. When the police arrived at the scene, they shot and killed Jemel as onlookers cried: “He’s a security guard!” “He saved us!” The shooter was taken safely into police custody. One man was black. But you didn’t need me to tell you that part, right? In the moments before his death, I imagine the thoughts that might have been going through Jemel’s mind. “I stopped a mass shooting! I saved everyone!” Was he thinking about how grateful the police officers would be for his courage when they arrived? Thinking about how proud his friends and family would be when he returned home to them a hero? Was he thinking about the beginning of his own career as an officer? We will never know. Please say his name with me tonight. Please help me make his memory the heroic one that he deserves. No one will tell this story if we don’t. #UntoldStories #SayHisName #JemelRoberson