The Christian police officer who refused to wait for backup

marke

Well-known member
Officer Justin Garner was criticized on national TV in 2009 for not waiting for backup, but he did the right thing without fear of the possibly deadly consequences. A deranged gunman was murdering residents at the Carthage rest home and he was the only officer on duty at the time. He got the call at 10:00 on a Sunday morning and within 5 minutes of the call, he confronted the gunman. God bless him for his bravery.


Robert Stewart, 45, dressed in a bib overall, arrived at the parking lot of the nursing home just before 10:00 a.m., where he fired several shots at the empty car of his estranged wife, shattering its windows.[citation needed] Stewart then fired at the car of visitor Michael Lee Cotten as he was driving into the parking lot, hitting him in the left shoulder. Cotten, who later stated that Stewart was "very calm...very deliberate" during the shooting,[5] managed to run into the building and warn the people inside of the gunman.[citation needed] Police received the first emergency calls at approximately 10:00 a.m. and the only police officer on duty in Carthage, 25-year-old Cpl. Justin Garner, was dispatched to the scene.[6]

Leaving a camouflaged Remington 597 .22 caliber rifle atop a Jeep Cherokee, Stewart entered the nursing home armed with a .357-caliber handgun, a .22 Magnum semi-automatic pistol, and a 12-gauge Winchester 1300 shotgun and went down the hall, apparently searching for his estranged wife, Wanda Neal. She had left him three weeks earlier because of his abusive behavior, drinking, violent temper, and possessiveness. She had been reassigned to the Alzheimer's unit that morning. When she heard the shooting, she hid in a locked and passcode-protected bathroom.
[7]

Upon realizing that his wife wasn't where she usually worked, Steward headed to the area for Alzheimer's patients, which was secured by passcode-protected doors. As he walked through the hallways of the nursing home, Stewart killed seven residents—two of them in their wheelchairs—while the staff tried to move other patients to safety. He shot and killed nurse Jerry Avant, who tried to stop the gunman.[8][9] Avant was the only employee killed.

Police Cpl. Garner confronted Stewart in the hallway at about 10:05 a.m. After refusing several orders to drop his weapon, Stewart lowered his shotgun and fired a shot at Garner, hitting him in the leg.[10] Garner returned fire and hit Stewart in the chest, incapacitating him.[10] Years later, Garner recalled that the wounded Stewart had said only: "Kill me, kill me."[10]

At the end of the shooting, six people were dead at the scene; five others, including Stewart, were taken to a nearby hospital, where two of the wounded died the same day.[1]


Jonathan Garner grew up in a local Baptist church in our area.

It took officers more than an hour to enter the Columbine H.S. after the first reports of gunfire came in. It took officers at Columbine more than 3-1/2 hours to remove an injured teacher who subsequently died on the way to the hospital.

By the time the Texas gunman was shot dozens of local and state officers had gathered at the school and there were 80 border control officers at the scene by the time they went in and stopped the shooting more than 40 minutes after the first officers arrived at the scene. There was certainly no fearless Christian Officer like Justin Garner there to show them how to get the job done.
 

Hoping

Well-known member
Banned
Officer Justin Garner was criticized on national TV in 2009 for not waiting for backup, but he did the right thing without fear of the possibly deadly consequences. A deranged gunman was murdering residents at the Carthage rest home and he was the only officer on duty at the time. He got the call at 10:00 on a Sunday morning and within 5 minutes of the call, he confronted the gunman. God bless him for his bravery.


Robert Stewart, 45, dressed in a bib overall, arrived at the parking lot of the nursing home just before 10:00 a.m., where he fired several shots at the empty car of his estranged wife, shattering its windows.[citation needed] Stewart then fired at the car of visitor Michael Lee Cotten as he was driving into the parking lot, hitting him in the left shoulder. Cotten, who later stated that Stewart was "very calm...very deliberate" during the shooting,[5] managed to run into the building and warn the people inside of the gunman.[citation needed] Police received the first emergency calls at approximately 10:00 a.m. and the only police officer on duty in Carthage, 25-year-old Cpl. Justin Garner, was dispatched to the scene.[6]

Leaving a camouflaged Remington 597 .22 caliber rifle atop a Jeep Cherokee, Stewart entered the nursing home armed with a .357-caliber handgun, a .22 Magnum semi-automatic pistol, and a 12-gauge Winchester 1300 shotgun and went down the hall, apparently searching for his estranged wife, Wanda Neal. She had left him three weeks earlier because of his abusive behavior, drinking, violent temper, and possessiveness. She had been reassigned to the Alzheimer's unit that morning. When she heard the shooting, she hid in a locked and passcode-protected bathroom.
[7]

Upon realizing that his wife wasn't where she usually worked, Steward headed to the area for Alzheimer's patients, which was secured by passcode-protected doors. As he walked through the hallways of the nursing home, Stewart killed seven residents—two of them in their wheelchairs—while the staff tried to move other patients to safety. He shot and killed nurse Jerry Avant, who tried to stop the gunman.[8][9] Avant was the only employee killed.

Police Cpl. Garner confronted Stewart in the hallway at about 10:05 a.m. After refusing several orders to drop his weapon, Stewart lowered his shotgun and fired a shot at Garner, hitting him in the leg.[10] Garner returned fire and hit Stewart in the chest, incapacitating him.[10] Years later, Garner recalled that the wounded Stewart had said only: "Kill me, kill me."[10]

At the end of the shooting, six people were dead at the scene; five others, including Stewart, were taken to a nearby hospital, where two of the wounded died the same day.[1]


Jonathan Garner grew up in a local Baptist church in our area.

It took officers more than an hour to enter the Columbine H.S. after the first reports of gunfire came in. It took officers at Columbine more than 3-1/2 hours to remove an injured teacher who subsequently died on the way to the hospital.

By the time the Texas gunman was shot dozens of local and state officers had gathered at the school and there were 80 border control officers at the scene by the time they went in and stopped the shooting more than 40 minutes after the first officers arrived at the scene. There was certainly no fearless Christian Officer like Justin Garner there to show them how to get the job done.
You consider baptists to be Christians?
 

marke

Well-known member
You consider baptists to be Christians?
I believe Justin is saved but I cannot prove it. He shows signs of being saved. I have known Baptists that I think are not saved. I am confident the church Justin grew up in is among the best Churches in our area. Whether his faith made him fearless or something else motivated him, I thank God he went in immediately and stopped the ongoing shooting, something it took officers in Texas more than 40 minutes to do.
 

Gary K

New member
Banned
You consider baptists to be Christians?
So you apparently consider those who disagree with you to be lost. That is a large assumption on your part as it demonstrates the fact that you consider yourself the infallible judge of another person's heart. Odd isn't it how Jesus said he had not seen the same kind of faith in all of Israel that He saw in the pagan Roman centurion. Isn't it faith in Jesus that saves us? That is what I see taught throughout the Bible.

The following is not addressed to you. Derf, you were right and I was wrong in that long ago discussion.
 

Right Divider

Body part
So you apparently consider those who disagree with you to be lost. That is a large assumption on your part as it demonstrates the fact that you consider yourself the infallible judge of another person's heart. Odd isn't it how Jesus said he had not seen the same kind of faith in all of Israel that He saw in the pagan Roman centurion. Isn't it faith in Jesus that saves us? That is what I see taught throughout the Bible.
Hoping is sinless... how can he be wrong? :rolleyes:

P.S. I cannot find the "tongue in cheek" emoji ;)
 

marke

Well-known member
I believe Justin is saved but I cannot prove it. He shows signs of being saved. I have known Baptists that I think are not saved. I am confident the church Justin grew up in is among the best Churches in our area. Whether his faith made him fearless or something else motivated him, I thank God he went in immediately and stopped the ongoing shooting, something it took officers in Texas more than 40 minutes to do.
Justin Garner shot the shooter within 5 minutes of the time he got the call. He drove to the rest home, rushed inside, not knowing where the shooter was or what he was armed with, and confronted the shooter as soon as he found him. All within 5 minutes. Officer Garner told the shooter 3 times to lay down his gun but the shooter refused and raised his gun instead and fired. Garner also fired his gun and bioth men were wounded but neither man died.

The Texas officers were afraid to enter the school for fear of being shot. Garner showed no such fear. Faith and trust in Jesus drive out fear in Christians.


A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) official has said officers “could have been shot” if they engaged the gunman holed up with his victims in a classroom at Robb Elementary School before a specialist tactical team arrived.

Authorities on Thursday sketched out a timeline of events from when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos crashed his vehicle to when he entered the Texas school at around 11.40 a.m. and slaughtered 19 students and two teachers.

But it wasn’t until almost 1 p.m. that Ramos had been killed and the siege was over, around 90 minutes later.
 

marke

Well-known member
Justin Garner shot the shooter within 5 minutes of the time he got the call. He drove to the rest home, rushed inside, not knowing where the shooter was or what he was armed with, and confronted the shooter as soon as he found him. All within 5 minutes. Officer Garner told the shooter 3 times to lay down his gun but the shooter refused and raised his gun instead and fired. Garner also fired his gun and bioth men were wounded but neither man died.

The Texas officers were afraid to enter the school for fear of being shot. Garner showed no such fear. Faith and trust in Jesus drive out fear in Christians.


A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) official has said officers “could have been shot” if they engaged the gunman holed up with his victims in a classroom at Robb Elementary School before a specialist tactical team arrived.

Authorities on Thursday sketched out a timeline of events from when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos crashed his vehicle to when he entered the Texas school at around 11.40 a.m. and slaughtered 19 students and two teachers.

But it wasn’t until almost 1 p.m. that Ramos had been killed and the siege was over, around 90 minutes later.
Tucker Carlson pointed out that if law enforcement officers are afraid to stop a shooter for fear of being shot then what good would it be to post law enforcement officers in schools to prevent shootings? We should have learned a lesson from the way officer Scot Peterson hid from the gunman at the Parkland school while the thug continued to murder students.


"We’re being told that we need to turn America’s elementary schools into a checkpoint at the Gaza Strip border. We need to militarize them. But what’s the point of any of this if the people in charge of keeping our kids safe refuse to engage with an active shooter?"
 

Gary K

New member
Banned
Tucker Carlson pointed out that if law enforcement officers are afraid to stop a shooter for fear of being shot then what good would it be to post law enforcement officers in schools to prevent shootings? We should have learned a lesson from the way officer Scot Peterson hid from the gunman at the Parkland school while the thug continued to murder students.


"We’re being told that we need to turn America’s elementary schools into a checkpoint at the Gaza Strip border. We need to militarize them. But what’s the point of any of this if the people in charge of keeping our kids safe refuse to engage with an active shooter?"
Ironic isn't it that both Scot Peterson's that have been major news stories have demonstrated themselves very negatively.
 

Hoping

Well-known member
Banned
So you apparently consider those who disagree with you to be lost.
Correct.
That is a large assumption on your part as it demonstrates the fact that you consider yourself the infallible judge of another person's heart.
If they won't submit to God, they are lost.
It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.
Odd isn't it how Jesus said he had not seen the same kind of faith in all of Israel that He saw in the pagan Roman centurion. Isn't it faith in Jesus that saves us? That is what I see taught throughout the Bible.
In a sense, faith is what saves us.
Faith in the word of God that we can turn from sin permanently.
Faith that we can be reborn, and cast off the flesh with the affections and lusts, at our water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of past sins.
Faith that we will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost if our turn from sin is true.
Faith that we will never be tempted above what we can handle and that God will always provide an escape from temptations.
Other things too, but if there is no corresponding actions to saying you have faith, there is actually no faith.
 

Derf

Well-known member
Correct.

If they won't submit to God, they are lost.
It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

In a sense, faith is what saves us.
Faith in the word of God that we can turn from sin permanently.
Faith that we can be reborn, and cast off the flesh with the affections and lusts, at our water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of past sins.
Faith that we will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost if our turn from sin is true.
Faith that we will never be tempted above what we can handle and that God will always provide an escape from temptations.
Other things too, but if there is no corresponding actions to saying you have faith, there is actually no faith.
I grew up baptist. Back then I was sure only baptists would be in heaven. I've matured since then.
 

marke

Well-known member
I can be wrong, about lottery numbers and which exit to take.
But not about the sinlessness of those in Christ.
Yes, all humans are subject to error just as Christians are still tempted by sin after they are saved. God repeatedly tells Christians to walk in the Spirit so they will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

  1. Ephesians 4:1
    I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthyof the vocation wherewith ye are called,
  2. Colossians 1:10
    That ye might walk worthyof the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
  3. 1 Thessalonians 2:12
    That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

These verses are written to Christians who will believe and obey God, not to those who don't believe God is talking to them.
 

Hoping

Well-known member
Banned
Yes, all humans are subject to error just as Christians are still tempted by sin after they are saved. God repeatedly tells Christians to walk in the Spirit so they will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

  1. Ephesians 4:1
    I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
  2. Colossians 1:10
    That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
  3. 1 Thessalonians 2:12
    That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

These verses are written to Christians who will believe and obey God, not to those who don't believe God is talking to them.
Temptation is not sin.
It is written..."But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:14-15)
It is written..."And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Gal 5:24)
No flesh, no lusts, so sin.
 

Gary K

New member
Banned
Correct.

If they won't submit to God, they are lost.
It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

In a sense, faith is what saves us.
Faith in the word of God that we can turn from sin permanently.
Faith that we can be reborn, and cast off the flesh with the affections and lusts, at our water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of past sins.
Faith that we will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost if our turn from sin is true.
Faith that we will never be tempted above what we can handle and that God will always provide an escape from temptations.
Other things too, but if there is no corresponding actions to saying you have faith, there is actually no faith.
I have no issue with what you just said here. However you are basing conclusions on an argument from silence. The Bible tells us nothing about the centurion's life after the healing of his child. Your conclusion is based on on the idea that his faith in God is not changing his life when change is only possible by faith. It's impossible for a pagan to change who has faith in God? That idea has been proven false times beyond number. That is one of the most absurd assertions I've ever hear. You're once again extremely judgmental by pronoucing him guilty when you have zero evidence of it.
 

Hoping

Well-known member
Banned
I have no issue with what you just said here. However you are basing conclusions on an argument from silence. The Bible tells us nothing about the centurion's life after the healing of his child.
What conclusion do you refer to?
I think you need to supply exactly what argument you refer to.
It's impossible for a pagan to change who has faith in God?
Not at all.
That idea has been proven false times beyond number. That is one of the most absurd assertions I've ever hear. You're once again extremely judgmental by pronoucing him guilty when you have zero evidence of it.
I think you are against something I have no idea about.
Who did I pronounce guilty, and of what?
 
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