Oscar Stewart

            My VIP for this week is military veteran Oscar Stewart. His military training kicked in when he heard gunfire at the Chabad of Poway in San Diego, and he ran toward the shooter. Instead of following others out of the synagogue, Stewart turned in the direction of danger.     

            Stewart saw the nineteen-year-old shooter carrying a semiautomatic rifle, and he shouted at him. He ran as fast as he could in order to close the gap to less than five feet in order to lessen the ability of the shooter to use the rifle. Stewart said that the gunman was in the act of shooting when he saw him but fled when Stewart started after him.

When I yelled at him he turned and looked at me, and he like froze. And then the look on his face was one of amazement at first, and then one of fear. He saw me coming, and I was ready to do whatever I had to do to stop him.

When I shouted, they said that it sounded like four men shouting…. I don’t know if that was me or if that was an angel, if you believe in angels, or what made that noise.

I must have had a really mean look on my face or something because he immediately dropped his weapon and turn and ran. And then I gave chase.

            Stewart is being called a hero, and the San Diego Sheriff’s Department is saying that he saved lives in process of stopping the shooter. He sounds like a hero to me because he took no thought for his own safety as he focused on stopping the shooter.