A 14-year-old boy is being hailed a hero after helping save his younger brothers during the deadly Michigan church shooting that left four people dead and eight injured, according to a report.
Jasper was serving as an usher during Sunday service at his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation in Grand Blanc Township when he left his post at the chapel to grab a tissue for a runny nose, KSLTV reported.
“It was so unexpected and came on fast,” his aunt, Amber Rosen, told the outlet. “Jasper hadn’t been sick. But he felt the need to leave his post and go to the restroom to get a tissue.”
Moments later, gunman Thomas Jacob Sanford crashed his Chevy Silverado through the same doors Jasper had just been guarding, the outlet reported.
“The shooter came to where his post was. So had he not needed to blow his nose, Jasper would have been the first person the shooter saw,” Rosen said.
Rosen said her sister Michelle and children were sitting at the back of the chapel when Sanford unleashed a hail of bullets.
Amid the chaos, Jasper immediately ran to protect his two younger brothers.
“Jasper ran to them and grabbed his 8 and 10-year-old brothers,” Rosen said.
“In the chaos, his sister Josie was whisked away with another family trying to exit,” she added.
More than 100 worshippers hurriedly tried to escape through one door, where Sanford reportedly circled to shoot at fleeing congregants, according to the outlet.
“The shooter knew this and so he went around to wait at the doors to shoot people as they were fleeing the chapel,” Rosen said.
“So Jasper led his mom and two brothers to a back exit,” she said. But the door jammed, trapping the younger boys against the glass.
“Without even thinking, Jasper took his elbow and hit the glass window a few times, and the whole thing shattered with no cuts to him,” Rosen said.
“They ran into the parking lot. Jasper flagged down a car that was leaving and put his brothers inside, so that they were off-site and safe. He was so brave and heroic,” she said.
As police exchanged gunfire with Sanford, Jasper and his mother hid behind cars as they grew worried about where 11-year-old Josie was as the church erupted into flames.
SWAT teams later found her hiding in the woods, clutching a church hymnbook, the outlet said.
“It was so absolutely terrifying. The trauma is deep. No child should ever have to experience this — let alone take a leadership position in a violent attack like this one,” Rosen said.
“When Jasper saw her, he sprinted and grabbed her and of course, it was a wonderful reunion for them that their family was all together and safe.”
“I believe that angels were with them.”
Rosen plans to fly to Michigan to join her sister and family in Grand Blanc after the harrowing event.
“We all just want to curl up with a big blanket, watch movies and enjoy the sisterhood. The healing will be a long road. This has been harder than anyone could imagine.”
Sanford, a US Marine vet, died in a gun battle with a Grand Blanc Township police officer and a Department of Natural Resources officer who responded to the shooting.
Cops were on the scene 30 seconds after calls started coming in, and took out the suspect in about eight minutes.
He rammed his truck — which had two large American flags in the bed and deer antlers on the front bumper — through the church’s doors around 10:25 a.m.
After opening fire with an assault rifle, Sanford set the Mormon church ablaze, causing the entire structure to burn down.
Two victims were fatally shot, while the other two were found dead inside the burnt-out church.
The victims of Sunday’s horrifying attack include a beloved father and husband, a Navy veteran grandfather, a 6-year-old girl, and her parents.
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