The Sheepdog of Clackamas Town Center
Nick Meli is emotionally drained. The 22-year-old was at Clackamas Town Center with a friend and her baby when a masked man opened fire.
"I heard three shots and turned and looked at Casey and said, 'are you serious?,'" he said.
The friend and baby hit the floor. Meli, who has a concealed carry permit, positioned himself behind a pillar.
"He was working on his rifle," said Meli. "He kept pulling the charging handle and hitting the side."
The break in gunfire allowed Meli to pull out his own gun, but he never took his eyes off the shooter.
"As I was going down to pull, I saw someone in the back of the Charlotte move, and I knew if I fired and missed, I could hit them," he said.
Meli took cover inside a nearby store. He never pulled the trigger. He stands by that decision.
"I'm not beating myself up cause I didn't shoot him," said Meli. "I know after he saw me, I think the last shot he fired was the one he used on himself."
The gunman was dead, but not before taking two innocent lives with him and taking the innocence of everyone else.
Wow, is THAT a powerful story. And powerful illustration of why having a gun's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, CI. I'm sorry I haven't been by here before. Working full time is exhausting!
your quote in the post below is something I wish all Americans would read and understand.
The sheepdogs are seldom recognized....largely because they do not seek media attention.
ReplyDeleteYou are very correct...full time work really gets in the way of blogging. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you get time to post your insights here on occasion!