| "This could have been a lot worse."
If not for the heroic actions of the servicemen killed by Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, the body count from the tragic act of violence in Chattanooga could have been much higher.
Abdulazeez failed to recognize that he was attacking individuals who pledge their lives to protect others, and that those are the kinds of people who fight back.
The New York Times reported on the military personnel who chose to sacrifice themselves during the terror attack:
Some of the five servicemen who were fatally wounded effectively sacrificed themselves during the assault on Thursday, diverting the gunman from a larger group of potential victims, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation into the killings.
“This could have been a lot worse,” said the official, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation. “It could have been a horrible, horrible massacre — so much worse.”
At a news conference here, the F.B.I. confirmed that at least one service member shot at the attacker, but did not say whether he had managed to wound the gunman, Mohammod Abdulazeez, who was killed minutes later in a shootout with the Chattanooga police.
IJReview spoke to former Army Ranger and Army Recruiter Marty Skovlund about why the service members reacted in such a valiant way.
He said:
“As a former Army Ranger as well as a former Army Recruiter and Station Commander, you are regularly briefed on what to do in case of an active shooter situation. The ‘by-the-book’ answer is to basically hide and hope you don’t get shot – which is ridiculous to folks who have spent the better part of the last two decades fighting our nation’s enemies.
In our station, it was always a general consensus that if an active shooter situation arose, that we would go on the offensive with whatever we had available. No service member worth their salt is going to die on their knees if they can help it.
They will fight, and die if necessary, when attacked regardless of whether it is at home or abroad. That’s what those Marines did, and I would have expected nothing less from them in that situation. America lost some amazing men that day.”
The final act of the fallen shows a remarkable display of courage. It’s the kind of selfless sacrifice that will never be forgotten.
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