Among the chaos during the El Paso shooting, a soldier risked his own life to save the lives of children lost amid the gunfire.
Legal gun owner and active military serviceman Glen Oakley was in a Footlocker at the time of the shooting. Inside the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, Oakley realized several small children were lost in the shuffle during Saturday's shooting. According to NBC News, the off-duty soldier pulled out his weapon to defend himself from possible incoming fire.
He was in the athletic store buying a jersey when he realized something was wrong. "A little kid runs in talking about there's an active shooter at Walmart," he recalled.
The Foot Locker was closed down to protect customers inside, but when frightened mall patrons lifted the gate of the store in hopes of safety, Oakley then left the store to see how he could help.
"It was a whole bunch of kids in there," he said of the chaos inside the mall.
Oakley told NBC News he ran outside to the parking lot and guided as many kids as he could to safety. "I hope nothing happened to the kids. I tried to pick up as many as I could and bring them out with me."
This is Glen Oakley.
He was in the @FootLocker when the El Paso shooting happened. When he ran to leave, he saw kids in the mall without their parents, scared and alone.
So he picked up as many as he could and carried them to safety.
Focus on the heroes.#ElPasoShooting
pic.twitter.com/1NofPvegjL— Muhammad Lila (@MuhammadLila) August 3, 2019
"I got my bag in my hand, so I was just trying to pick them up one by one, as many as I can and just run out," Oakley told a local KTSM reporter.
The Army confirms that Glen Oakley, interviewed by CNN below near the El Paso Mall, is indeed a soldier and member of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss.
I share this because the veracity of initial media reports in mass shootings is often questioned later.#elpasoshooting
https://t.co/0ngXVw5seT— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 3, 2019
When police encountered the hero, they asked if he was a legal gun owner and allowed him to go on without an issue. He said he was not concerned with his own wellbeing. He just wanted to save the children.
"I guess one of the cops thought I was the shooter…"
He put his life at risk by one stopping to pick up the children and then pulling out his gun at the risk of being RACIALLY PROFILED and mistaken as the Shooter
HE IS A HERO
GLEN OAKLEY IS HIS NAME.
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) August 3, 2019
"I wasn't really worried about myself. It just brings back flashbacks of, ya know … I just hope those kids are alright, that's all I'm thinking about right now is those kids. I'm not even worried about myself," he said.
