Hero parishioner who took down Texas church shooter will get Medal of Courage
(KFTK/AP) -The man being called a hero for ending a mass shooting at a Texas church just six seconds after the gunman open fired, is going to receive the Governor's Medal of Courage, Monday.
The honor is the highest award that Governor Greg Abbott can give to a civilian. The medal is given to civilians who display "great acts of heroism by risking their own safety to save another's life."
Jack Wilson fired a single shot, quickly ending the attack that killed two people at the West Freeway Church of Christ in the Fort Worth-area town of White Settlement. More than 240 congregants were in the church at the time.
"I didn’t have a clear window," he said, referring to church members who "were jumping, going chaotic.” Wilson, a 71-year-old firearms instructor who has also been a reserve sheriff's deputy, said: “They were standing up. I had to wait about half a second, or a second, to get my shot. I fired one round. The subject went down.”
Two innocent people killed were Anton Wallace, 64, of Fort Worth and Richard White, 67, of suburban River Oaks, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed. Wallace was a nurse and grandfather and White was a security guard who responded to the shooter.
