Last Updated on December 31, 2019
The hero who took down a gun-wielding man with a clean head shot in a church in Texas speaks out on his actions which drew considerable public attention and made him something of an internet celebrity.
“I didn’t kill a human. I killed an evil.”
Jack Wilson, the man whose bravery helped save the lives of many, said that “he was put into a position that he would hope no one would have to be in.”
Wilson was one of the parishioners at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas who shot and killed a gunman during Sunday’s service.
CBS Austin reported that the West Freeway Church of Christ gunman was identified as 43-year-old Keith Thomas Kinnunen of River Oaks.
Two church attendees were shot dead by Kinnunen before he was blown away by Wilson and carrying members of the congregation.
In a Facebook post on the shooting, Wilson said: “I’m thankful to GOD that I have been blessed with the ability and desire to serve him in the role of head of security at the church.
“I am very sad in the loss of two dear friends and brothers in CHRIST, but evil does exist in this world and I and other members are not going to allow evil to succeed.”
In an interview with NBC, Wilson said: “The only clear shot I had was his head because I still had people in the pews who were not down as low as they could. That was my one shot.
“When I teach, I teach them not to shoot the head unless that is all that you have. If that is the only shot you’ve got, then that’s the shot you take.
“We were aware that it could happen. Most of the members didn’t feel like it would happen, but we were prepared if it did. If we didn’t have the security team in place, in my opinion, it would have been a more severe outcome than what happened.”
As National File has previously reported, Wilson is running for County Commissioner for Precinct 3 in White Settlement and is the head of security for the local church.
