By Aaron Earls
Christian “Riley” Garcia, 15, wanted to join the military after high school, but in an act of bravery he laid down his life protecting classmates at Santa Fe High School.
During the school shooting on May 18, Garcia died while blocking a classroom door to allow other students to escape the gunman.
“He was holding the door shut when the shooter was trying to gain access into that art room,” Garcia’s pastor Keenan Smith told CNN.
Smith said he was with Garcia’s family when other students told officials the 15-year-old had saved their lives.
The shooter shot through the door, killing Garcia, but not before other students were able to escape out of a different door.
“He was against the door trying to help his teacher, trying to help another student, and trying to shield the others there,” Smith said.
Garcia’s friend Jai Gillard told the Associated Press she saw Garcia barricade the door to keep out the shooter.
Before she escaped, Gillard said she saw Garcia move to help two others get off the floor.
Unfortunately, Garcia and the two he tried to help were among the 10 killed during the school shooting.
Smith, pastor at Crosby Church, said he baptized Garcia in 2013 and described him as a helpful and respectful teen.
“He was a good kid, he was compassionate, he was loving, caring for other people, to the point that he desired to serve in the military when he was of age,” said Smith, according to CBS News.
The pastor hopes knowing of Garcia’s sacrifice will provide comfort to his family.
“This doesn’t ease the pain any. It doesn’t stop the void that will forever be there,” said Smith, “but it does bring a measure of peace.”
In his obituary, his family wrote: “The Lord tells us, Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends — John 15:13. He has gone home so we know he achieved his God given work on Earth. And we know he will hear ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’”
Related:
- American Teenagers Fear Another School Shooting
- South Florida Churches Respond to Shooting, Call for Unity
- How Common Are U.S. Church Shootings?
- In Mass Shootings, Who Wins?
AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.
