Summary: Shannon Johnson's last words were "I got you", which he told Denise Peraza as he shielded her during Wednesday's massacre at a county health department holiday party at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. Johnson was one of 14 people who died and Peraza was one of 21 others wounded. She can't remember a lot about this incident, but "I will always remember his left arm wrapped around me, holding me as close as possible next to him behind that chair...And amidst all the chaos, I'll always remember him saying these three words, 'I got you'". Johnson, 45, worked in San Bernardino County for 11 years. 5 minutes before 2 shooters fired around 70 bullets into the crowd, the 2 were catching up at the party. Peraza and Johnson had worked in the same office, with adjacent desks, until 2 months ago, when Peraza transferred offices. Peraza was shot in the back and her husband says she making a good recovery at home. Mandy Pifer, Johnson's girlfriend of 3 years, said "he was not afraid to die". He knew Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the shooters, and he liked him.
Analysis: What a selfless thing this man did. Author Steve Almasy published this on Saturday, December 5th. I do not think this article is biased. It reminds me of Pocahontas (allegedly) throwing herself over John Smith so her dad, Chief Wahunsenacawh (Chief Powatan), wouldn't execute him. Pocahontas successfully kept Smith from dying, as did Johnson to Peraza. Unfortunately, this act of bravery cost Johnson his life.
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/04/us/san-bernardino-shooting-hero/index.html
This is so sad! It shows that even in chaos and tragedy, some people can show how brave and heroic they really are. It seems that Johnson was a very kind person, even to his last moment.
ReplyDelete-Isabela Montague 5th period