When I learned that the armed security officer who is alleged to have shot and killed Matthew Murray, the gunman who killed two teenagers at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO Sunday morning, was a volunteer I knew the media would begin to question the appropriateness, if not the legality, of guns in a church.
But now it’s more than that. An AP story indicates that investigators are now saying that Jeanne Assam may not have killed the gunman at all. Their preliminary investigation indicates he committed suicide. This same report also has this piece of irrelevant information:
Assam is a former police officer who worked in Minneapolis from 1993 to 1997, but was fired from the department for lying during an internal investigation, Minneapolis police Sgt. Jesse Garcia said Tuesday.
Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, said police were investigating a complaint that Assam swore at a bus driver while she was handling an incident on a city bus.
“In giving a statement about the incident, she was untruthful and she was fired,” Delmonico said. Assam denied that she swore at the driver, but her actions were caught on tape, he said.
The union arbitrated the case and the arbitrator upheld the termination, he said.
A Google search of Jeanne Assam’s name returns this disciplinary summary as the first result.
Assam is like Jeremiah Neitz with guns. Neitz is a hero and tried to convert the gunman in vain to Christianity and he is of Prussian-Mexican origin.
Jeanne Assam is almost like the Chuck Foster (a hero shot the gunman in the McDonald’s) of Colorado Springs. Also, she is like the Mark Kram (the Yiddish Tom Selleck) of Colorado Springs.
Since I truly believe everything happens for a reason, who’s to say that her firing from the police department wasn’t part of Gods greater plan to make sure she was in the right place at the right time. I mean to be let go because someone swore at a bus driver, and than supposedly “lied” about the event, is pretty petty if you ask me, considering all the people who retain their jobs for worse offenses. I don’t think anyone has explored this avenue, but God puts us through many trials that we do not know the reason for and I believe this is one of them.
Great to hear from you Ken. And thanks for using your law enforcement experience to clairfy the concealed carry laws here. One person emailed to say that if a person with a CCW had the permission of the pastor of the church (or the board) he/she could carry a firearm on the church property.
Let’s do that lunch/dinner. Nancy has to come too, though!
Hey Paul, I heard most of your program today while I was at work, but I couldn’t call in to give you any comments. Love the show when I get a chance to hear it. First, I not only think Jeanne Assam was a hero, I believe (if you stop and think about it) that she was an example of God’s sustaining grace (reference to John Piper’s message on sustaining grace). Second, under certain conditions you can, in Michigan, carry a concealed weapon in church. I don’t know all of the exemptions, but if you are a retired or active law enforcement officer with a CCW you are exempt from the “pistol free zones.” MCL 28.425o(4). I think churches should seek these people out and set up active security for services. I think that Colorado could happen here. Third, is anyone surprised by the media coverage? The media reinforces my opinion of them all the time. Fourth, you still owe me lunch! (Or dinner?). Again, I love the show and hope to see you soon.