A US Soldier Saved Several Children's Lives In El Paso Incident

Aug 08, 2019 by apost team

A 22-year-old United States Army soldier is being hailed as a hero for saving several children in last weekend’s shooting in El Paso, Texas. Private First Class Glendon Oakley Jr. is an automated logistics specialist with the 504th Composite Supply Company of the 1st Armored Division Sustainment Brigade.

Assigned to Fort Bliss, Oakley was shopping at a sporting goods store at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso when a young boy came into the store frantically telling that there was a shooter at the neighboring Walmart. Oakley later recalled exchanging looks with the cashier, thinking that the boy was trying to prank them.

Oakley knew that the boy wasn’t playing a joke when the gunfire began to ring through the store. Hearing the shooter’s gunfire put Oakley into combat mode. Not thinking about his safety or even his general surroundings, the young soldier grabbed as many kids as he could and ran five stores down to the exit. Reaching the exit, Oakley and the kids ran into police first responders, who met them.

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While many call Oakley a hero, his mind cannot escape the children he failed to save and their grieving families. Tears running down his face, Oakley told ABC he feels as though the gunman’s victims were a physical part of him even though he never knew them. Oakley adds that in his mind, he is not a hero, he just did his job and followed United States Army training. Rather than focusing on him, Oakley wants the media to focus on the victims of the heinous act. Oakley himself says that he is haunted by the unspeakable crime, having difficulty sleeping and flashing back to the awful scene.

Law enforcement agencies say that so far, 22 were killed in the shooting with another 24 wounded, reports CNN. Most of the people at Walmart that day were families shopping for back to school supplies. A 21-year-old is being charged in the shooting, which is believed to have been motivated by white nationalism and anti-immigration sentiments. Mere hours after the shooting in El Paso, another mass shooting was carried out in Dayton, Ohio. There were nine people killed and injured 27 others before the perpetrator was shot to death by police according to CNN.

What do you think of how Glendon Oakley Jr. saved children during the El Paso shooting? What do you think needs to be done to stop mass shootings in the future?