Man who opened fire on Texas church shooter hailed as 'good Samaritan'

[moriah]

68. That *is* the purpose, and was the first lesson I was taught about guns.

I was just about to turn three, but it was very memorable, and done because we had to move in with my grandparents. My grandfather had a shotgun he kept loaded with birdshot as his home self-defense weapon -- he'd had other guns in the past, and did also still have something like a pellet gun that could kill a bird, but he was too old and sick to hunt anymore. Still, that was a dangerous weapon.

He took me outside, where he'd set up a target. He told me he had something very important to show me, that he needed me to pay attention, and he would explain why after.

He told me to stand very still and look at the target, and knelt next to where I was standing. The shotgun was braced on his shoulder and he had it in full control, I was completely safe, but he made sure to have the opposite leg touching my body. He told me to hold my ears tight, and fired.

I could feel, just from the very slight contact with his body, the recoil of the weapon. My fingers weren't much protection even with birdshot. I saw the target was destroyed.

He then discharged the shells, made sure the weapon was safe, put it down, and gave me a hug. Then he picked it up, resting it pointing it at the ground.

Him: "This is a gun. They kill things. We usually use them to kill deer, but they can kill anything. They can kill people. They could kill *you*. They are dangerous. Do you understand?"

Me: "Yes, sir."

Him: "Until I teach you about them, you are never to touch them. Not this one, not anything that looks like this one, or anything that someone calls a 'gun'. Do you understand?"

Again, I yes-sirred.

"Now, I keep this under my bed. Do you promise me to never, EVER look under my bed for anything without asking?"

Again, assent.

Then he hugged and praised me, told me he loved me and just wanted me to be safe, and then we went for ice cream.

----

They didn't really make gun safes in 1983 that were childproof, and he didn't have one either way.