The man who probably prevented more deaths at Seattle Pacific University on Thursday was being thanked all over the Internet on Friday. Jon Meis, a hero in the SPU shooting, had his wedding registry fulfilled by anonymous donors seeking to help him and his soon-to-be wife with their new life together, the Associated Press reported. The couple is getting married on June 21.
I suspect most of us wonder what we’d do, how we’d react, if faced with a life-and-death decision. Would we step up and do the right thing…or would we freeze in fear? It’s an unanswerable question, of course; there’s no way to know what you’d do until or unless you found yourself in a situation such as Jon Meis did on Friday. He found himself face to face with a killer and took action that undoubtedly saved lives- perhaps even his own. Then karma took over and did its thing.
When the gunman stopped to reload his shotgun, Meis, a 22-year-old hall monitor at Otto Miller Hall, pepper-sprayed and then tackled him as others stepped in to help.
Meis no doubt didn’t begin his Friday thinking he’d become a hero before the day was out, but he did what most of us can only hope we’d do if faced with similar circumstances. Meis did the right thing when it needed to be done, and his actions helped end the threat the gunman posed and saved the lives of those around him. Now he’s reaping the reward he never sought. Mies is getting married on June 21st, and the internet has bought out the wedding registry of Meis and his fiancé.
Friday was a horrific and tragic day at Seattle Pacific, but at least one good thing rose from the ashes. Heroism is very often found in unexpected places, and sometimes the rewards can be unexpected and impressive. The rest of us can only hope that when our time comes we react as decisively and heroically as Jon Meis. Once his 15 minutes of fame are up, Meis may go on to lead a quiet, perfectly anonymous life…but for one moment, when faced with the unthinkable, he did something heroic…and we should all be grateful for it.
