Security Guard: God guided me /// UPDATE
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14817480/detail.html#
Security Guard: 'God Guided Me And Protected Me'
Jeanne Assam Stopped Gunman At New Life Church
POSTED: 4:46 pm MST December 10, 2007
UPDATED: 5:51 pm MST December 10, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Jeanne Assam appeared before the news media for the first time Monday and said she "did not think for a minute to run away" when a gunman entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and started shooting.
Security guard Jeanne Assam
There was applause as Assam went before reporters and TV cameras saying "God guided me and protected me."
New Life's Senior Pastor Brady Boyd called Assam "a real hero" because Murray "had enough ammunition on him to cause a lot of damage."
Click to learn more...
When asked by a reporter if she felt like a hero, Assam said, "I was given the assignment to end this before it go too much worse."
"I give credit to God," she said.
Assam described how the gunman, Matthew Murray, entered the east entrance of the church firing his gun.
"There was chaos," Assam said, as parishioners ran away.
"I saw him coming through the doors" and took cover, Assam said. "I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged him and took him down."
"God was with me," Assam said. "I didn't think for a minute to run away."
Assam has several years of experience in law enforcement and is licensed to carry a weapon. She attends one of the morning services and then volunteers as a guard during another service.
The victims killed in the Colorado Springs shooting were identified Monday as sisters Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachael Works, 16. Their father, David Works, 51, suffered two gunshot wounds -- one to the abdomen and one to the groin -- and was listed in fair condition on Monday. They were shot in the parking lot as they were getting into their van.
"Our concern is for our family that lost two teenage daughters. Our hearts are grieving," said Brady Boyd. "You can imagine, as parents, losing two children while coming to church, just showing up for a worship service, not bothering anyone."
Boyd said Assam was the one who suggested the church beef up its security Sunday following the Arvada shooting, which it did. The pastor credited the security plan and the extra security for preventing further bloodshed.
Boyd said there are 15 to 20 security people at the church. All are volunteers but the only ones armed are those who are licensed to carry weapons.
About 7,000 people were on the church campus at the time of the shooting, said Boyd.
New Life, with about 10,000 members, was founded by the Rev. Ted Haggard, who was dismissed last year after a former male prostitute alleged he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with him. Haggard, then the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, admitted committing undisclosed "sexual immorality."
Security Guard: 'God Guided Me And Protected Me'
Jeanne Assam Stopped Gunman At New Life Church
POSTED: 4:46 pm MST December 10, 2007
UPDATED: 5:51 pm MST December 10, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Jeanne Assam appeared before the news media for the first time Monday and said she "did not think for a minute to run away" when a gunman entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and started shooting.
Security guard Jeanne Assam
There was applause as Assam went before reporters and TV cameras saying "God guided me and protected me."
New Life's Senior Pastor Brady Boyd called Assam "a real hero" because Murray "had enough ammunition on him to cause a lot of damage."
Click to learn more...
When asked by a reporter if she felt like a hero, Assam said, "I was given the assignment to end this before it go too much worse."
"I give credit to God," she said.
Assam described how the gunman, Matthew Murray, entered the east entrance of the church firing his gun.
"There was chaos," Assam said, as parishioners ran away.
"I saw him coming through the doors" and took cover, Assam said. "I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged him and took him down."
"God was with me," Assam said. "I didn't think for a minute to run away."
Assam has several years of experience in law enforcement and is licensed to carry a weapon. She attends one of the morning services and then volunteers as a guard during another service.
The victims killed in the Colorado Springs shooting were identified Monday as sisters Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachael Works, 16. Their father, David Works, 51, suffered two gunshot wounds -- one to the abdomen and one to the groin -- and was listed in fair condition on Monday. They were shot in the parking lot as they were getting into their van.
"Our concern is for our family that lost two teenage daughters. Our hearts are grieving," said Brady Boyd. "You can imagine, as parents, losing two children while coming to church, just showing up for a worship service, not bothering anyone."
Boyd said Assam was the one who suggested the church beef up its security Sunday following the Arvada shooting, which it did. The pastor credited the security plan and the extra security for preventing further bloodshed.
Boyd said there are 15 to 20 security people at the church. All are volunteers but the only ones armed are those who are licensed to carry weapons.
About 7,000 people were on the church campus at the time of the shooting, said Boyd.
New Life, with about 10,000 members, was founded by the Rev. Ted Haggard, who was dismissed last year after a former male prostitute alleged he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with him. Haggard, then the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, admitted committing undisclosed "sexual immorality."
0
-
UPDATE:
Former Minneapolis cop stops Colorado killer in church hallway shootout
BY ELECTA DRAPER
Denver Post
Article Launched: 12/11/2007 12:01:00 AM CST
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Amid deafening cracks of gunfire, smoke-spewing canisters and the evacuation of thousands of New LifeChurch members, security guard Jeanne Assam, a former Minneapolis police officer, said she suddenly saw the hallways clear and a gunman come through the door.
"I took cover. ... I identified myself. I engaged him. I took him down," the 42-year-old former law officer and volunteer church guard said Monday at a news conference in the Colorado Springs police station.
Security Guard Jeanne Assam, 42, is led out of a press conference by Pastor Brady Boyd, back right, and Assoc. Pastor Mike Steczo inside Colorado Springs Police Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday Dec. 10, 2007. (DARIN MCGREGOR/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS)
"I just said, 'Holy Spirit, be with me.' I wasn't even shaking," Assam said. "I give the credit to God. I say this very humbly. God was with me."
Assam, a member of New Life Church for only a few months, admitted she had been without sleep since the midday shootings Sunday at Colorado's largest church.
The Colorado Springs episode left two injured and ended the lives of two teen sisters and the gunman, 24-year-old Matthew Murray. Murray is also believed to be the man who killed two, including a Chisholm, Minn., native, and wounded two others, including a Burnsville man, at a church-affiliated dormitory in Arvada, a Denver suburb, early Sunday morning.
Police declined to confirm Monday whether Assam's weapon, which she reportedly emptied in the exchange, inflicted Murray's fatal wound or whether it was self-inflicted.
Nor would police describe how close Assam was to Murray or exactly where they were in New Life's long hallway.
The church's senior pastor, Brady Boyd, said Assam was a hero to him and to the whole church. He said she acted as his personal bodyguard.
"We will be holding a funeral for two very precious young women who were shot and killed on our campus," Brady said. "Three people are needlessly dead ... but many more lives could have been lost."
Church spokesman Rob Brendle called Assam's clear-eyed, swift action the "good news" of that horrible day.
"It was scary," Assam said. "It was loud. I'll never forget. The gunshots were so loud."
Assam said she had drawn her weapon countless times in her prior law enforcement career, but she had never shot anyone until Sunday.
"I was very focused. I knew what I had to do," she said.
"It was ... it just seemed like me, the gunman and God."
Larry Bourbonnais, a combat-tested Vietnam veteran, said the action taken by Assam was the bravest thing he's ever seen.
Bourbonnais, who was among those shot by the gunman, watched as Assam calmly returned fire.
"She just started walking toward the gunman firing the whole way," said Bourbonnais, who was shot in the arm. "She was just yelling, 'Surrender,' walking and shooting the whole time."
Assam, a Sioux Falls, S.D., native who is single and ran track at Hamline University in St. Paul, has been working for three months at Messengers International, an education ministry run by John and Lisa Bevere in Colorado Springs.
Assam said she had just ended a three-day fast Sunday. During the fast, she prayed and asked God to help her decide what to do with her future and whether she should work again in law enforcement.
"I was weak," she said. "God made me strong. What was going through my mind is how awesome God is."
She said she loves law enforcement, but she still doesn't have her answer about her future. "I'm going to continue to pray about it," Assam said.
Sgt. Jesse Garcia, a Minneapolis police spokesman, said Assam left the department in the late 1990s.
Garcia said that during Assam's time on the force she worked in North Minneapolis, the city's busiest crime area, as well as downtown.
"Some of the training she received here apparently helped her," Garcia said. "She did a great job."0 -
quote:Originally posted by allen griggs
"Assam was the one who suggested the church beef up its security Sunday following the Arvada shooting, which it did. The pastor credited the security plan and the extra security for preventing further bloodshed."
What moved Miss Assam to increase security on this day.
I will side with this female warrior, it was the voice of God.
I hope she wasnt in on it.0 -
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
We live in a dangerous world. This isn't the first time a killer shot up a church, and won't be the last. It has been understood pretty much throughout the existence of the Christian church that God helps those who help themselves -- and that there is evil which can strike any one or all of us at any given time, in a multitude of ways. One of the appeals of Christianity, as I understand it, is that we are given the power of self-determination -- the right to make our own choices, for better or worse, good or bad. The payoff for keeping our free will and not being slaves to the will of God (or to any government, since we're on the subject) is being responsible for our own actions, or lack thereof.
Those who sit and wait for others to do for them, will on a regular basis find others doing TO them.
The vast majority of the participants on this forum are gun owners and shooters. The logical conclusion to "we live in a dangerous world and are responsible for our own safety and well-being" ought to be fairly obvious and not particularly upsetting to anyone here -- and is not, IMHO, to wonder why God and the government aren't protecting us. The one gave us and the other still barely tolerates our having the means to protect ourselves. I for one would like to keep it that way, though a lightening-up of the government's attitude toward an armed citizenry would be welcome.
My opinion, worth no more or less than the opinion of anyone else who weighs in on this [;)].0 -
Former Police Officer. Wonder why she left law enforcement? And why does a Church have security guards? Unarmed Security guards. Some Churches might call them Ushers. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Former Police Officer. Wonder why she left law enforcement?I finally saw an interview with her on the news last night. She didn't quite pass the smell test.
She strikes me as someone who left under less than desirable circumstances. I'm betting she was either run off or fired.
Whatever the case may be, I hope her actions at the church cancel out any skeletons that might be rattling around in her closet.
She did well.0 -
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
The religious people are glad to explain and give credit for the easy questions, but they will run from the above in red.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
The religious people are glad to explain and give credit for the easy questions, but they will run from the above in red.
We do not run from it, tr fox, it really comes down to "We really don't know". I for one will not even attempt to understand why God does what he does. However, I will state that if those two young women were truly Christains, then God allowing them to be killed was the best thing that could have happened to them. A true Christain believes that this life is only lived to prepare for the next, eternal, one. God decided to call those two young women home, therefore, they received their reward much sooner than those of us still living. So, from a Christian's perspective, God was protecting them more than he was protecting the surviviors. Who knows what Satan had planned for those two? I do know one thing though. What ever it was, God thwarted it by calling them into his eternal protection.
Now, this is just my personal belief, and I do not ask you to share it. I mearly wanted to point out to you why it looks as if we run away from questions like that. We do not, we just don't think that a non-believer can truly understand our reasoning. It is kinda like trying to explain to an anti why we like guns. Sometimes it just isn't worth the effort.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
The religious people are glad to explain and give credit for the easy questions, but they will run from the above in red.
I know you won't like this Tr, but the answer to your question is the same as last time. We live in a fallen world. There is evil in this world, this is not paradise. There are things that GOD allows to happen, and things that He prohibits from happening. Maybe you can see a balance in that? Maybe not. But again, this is not paradise. Man has free will, and some men are evil. I don't like the evil that is done in this world anymore than you do. Forgive me for not running from the question above in red.0 -
Tr Fox-
Not trying to start something, but...
Maybe because I am nowhere near qualified to speak FOR God.
But since all good things come from God, it can be assumed that he had a part in giving her the courage and ability to do his will for him. Plus maybe God is tired of people trying to kick his name around and is giving one to the God fearing, gun toting kind of crowd.[:D]0 -
Sav 99-and HTR52
I think you and I were both posting responses at the same time.
Happy Holidays!0 -
quote:Originally posted by GUNFUNCO
Tr Fox-
Not trying to start something, but...
Maybe because I am nowhere near qualified to speak FOR God.
But since all good things come from God, it can be assumed that he had a part in giving her the courage and ability to do his will for him. Plus maybe God is tired of people trying to kick his name around and is giving one to the God fearing, gun toting kind of crowd.[:D]
+1 Gunfunco.
If we understood everything about God (omnipotence, omnipresence, etc), he wouldn't be God.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
The religious people are glad to explain and give credit for the easy questions, but they will run from the above in red.
No one is running from it. If you need a explanation, well, God wanted to show the world the differance between an unarmed person and a armed person. Maybe God likes CCW holders.0 -
We are given free will by God. Some choose to do good for others, and some choose to do evil to others. When this guard said she was protected by God, that she was not afraid or shaking, she was stating she was at peace with God. Whatever outcome happened, her being a hero or her death, she would accept her fate. That protection or peace with God gave her the confidence, calmness, and patience to engage the suspect and prevail. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Txs
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Former Police Officer. Wonder why she left law enforcement?I finally saw an interview with her on the news last night. She didn't quite pass the smell test.
She strikes me as someone who left under less than desirable circumstances. I'm betting she was either run off or fired.
Whatever the case may be, I hope her actions at the church cancel out any skeletons that might be rattling around in her closet.
She did well.
Yes, indeed there are some holes in her background story, but really , that is personal information that we don't need to know. Just because she did some good yesterday, do we need to know everything about her past. Plus, with the police refusing to say who killed the guy, himself or her, there is room for speculation.
There appears to be an opportunity for the press to conduct a counter smear campaign like Jessica Lynch or maybe Richard Jewel would be a more accurate comparison. It wouldn't surprise me that she is classified as a "person of interest" by the end of the week.
Regardless, she is a hero. Just as Richard Jewel's instinct saved many, so did hers.0 -
I am still wondering why a Church had security guards prior to this lunatic coming in. I am not saying she did wrong... 0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
I am still wondering why a Church had security guards prior to this lunatic coming in. I am not saying she did wrong...
There was a shooting at one of the Church's facilities the previous day. She wasn't exactly a security guard, more a church member who had a CCW and was trained. She volunteered to stand guard. We have armed "ushers" at our Church. It's a violent world we live in.0 -
Those of us who believe there's an answer to "Why?" may not be able to explain it to anyone's satisfaction but our own, or even agree with one another as to exactly what the answer is, but that's fine. No one else has to accept or live with what we each believe.
If what I believe, and why, isn't enough for someone else, I'm sorry. It's taken me a lifetime to work out certain things for myself. I'm afraid I don't have the energy, wisdom, or authority to work them out for others, particularly when the manner in which they ask "Why?" indicates they don't believe there's an answer to begin with.
Again, merely my opinion, and you're welcome to yours.0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
I am still wondering why a Church had security guards prior to this lunatic coming in. I am not saying she did wrong...
BECAUSE THEY CAN??
In Illinois you can't protect yourself like this. We have laws against carrying a concealed weapon. We also have laws against murder. So we are much more civilized than the Wild West.
Seriously,
This is just the down the road from Littleton.
They were affiliated with the incident in Denver the night before.
I suspect several other churches will discuss this option within the next month.0 -
When faced with an armed shooter there is only the training one has received and the inner voice telling you what to do.
Looks like she had both on her side on that day.
She is a true hero, and her minimizing the feat shows that.0 -
Illegal to carry in a church in SC. I guess I will stab the bad guy with a candleholder.[}:)] 0 -
If a candle holder is not available, the gold plated offering plates are another option or those big long do-hickies used to light the candles. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Illegal to carry in a church in SC. I guess I will stab the bad guy with a candleholder.[}:)]
It's also illegal to carry on a college campus in Virginia. Too bad they didn't have and candleholders.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Captplaid
If a candle holder is not available, the gold plated offering plates discus are another option or those big long do-hickies spears used to light the candles.0 -
I'm surprised no one has started the topic "What's your favorite Goin the Church meetin Gun?" 0 -
I'm surprised Church's haven't started concealed carry courses. Pay here.. The 10 Commandments:
1. Always carry your gun
2. Always have enough ammo
3. Bring your gun to Church
4. Don't shoot your Brother or Sister ( Church Talk )
5. Protect your Brother and Sister
6. Try not to shoot up Church property
7. Do not drink and shoot
8. Do not pull or play with your gun during Church
9. Do not shoot your gun during Church
10. Never under any circumstance give up your gun0 -
quote:Originally posted by guns-n-painthorses
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
The religious people are glad to explain and give credit for the easy questions, but they will run from the above in red.
No one is running from it. If you need a explanation, well, God wanted to show the world the differance between an unarmed person and a armed person. Maybe God likes CCW holders.
All the answers don't explain why God couldn't have let that armed female stop that deranged shooter before he killed anyone. Why did a few innoceent people have to be sacificed for any reason?0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
I'm surprised Church's haven't started concealed carry courses. Pay here.. The 10 Commandments:
1. Always carry your gun
2. Always have enough ammo
3. Bring your gun to Church
4. Don't shoot your Brother or Sister ( Church Talk )
5. Protect your Brother and Sister
6. Try not to shoot up Church property
7. Do not drink and shoot
8. Do not pull or play with your gun during Church
9. Do not shoot your gun during Church
10. Never under any circumstance give up your gun
I know wonder if denominations have a preference.
I suspect Jewish Tabernacles prefer the UZI.
John Moses Browning was a devote Mormon, plenty of kosher choices there.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by guns-n-painthorses
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
The religious people are glad to explain and give credit for the easy questions, but they will run from the above in red.
No one is running from it. If you need a explanation, well, God wanted to show the world the differance between an unarmed person and a armed person. Maybe God likes CCW holders.
All the answers don't explain why God couldn't have let that armed female stop that deranged shooter before he killed anyone. Why did a few innoceent people have to be sacificed for any reason?
Everyone's gotta die someway, sometime, somehow. Otherwise we'd run out of run on this little planet.0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
I am still wondering why a Church had security guards prior to this lunatic coming in. I am not saying she did wrong...
That is the dumbest question I have seen all week.
There have been at least three other churches that have been attacked by gunmen in the past 3 years.
What more reason do you need?0 -
quote:Originally posted by bhale187
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by guns-n-painthorses
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by gskyhawk
was it god or the "several years of law enforcement experience" that proected her
It was God.
WHY didn't God protect the ones that where shot ?
The religious people are glad to explain and give credit for the easy questions, but they will run from the above in red.
No one is running from it. If you need a explanation, well, God wanted to show the world the differance between an unarmed person and a armed person. Maybe God likes CCW holders.
All the answers don't explain why God couldn't have let that armed female stop that deranged shooter before he killed anyone. Why did a few innoceent people have to be sacificed for any reason?
Everyone's gotta die someway, sometime, somehow. Otherwise we'd run out of run on this little planet.
I wish I could get as good a deal as God gets. For every thing good that happens, God gets credit. For everything bad that happens, either nobody knows who should get blame or the Devil gets the blame.
Wish I could get my boss at work to treat me like that.0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
81 comments