Off-Duty Officer, Good Samaritan Thwart Potential Church Massacre
Establishment media buried the lead in a story about a potential mass shooting at a church being prevented:
Because of an off-duty police officer and a good Samaritan, lives may have been saved, but you’d hardly know that from certain reporting, or lack thereof.
In an incident that took place on Sunday, the Seguin Police Department of Texas noted on Facebook that “an oddly dressed male wearing tactical style clothing, a surgical face shield, carrying a loaded firearm and extra ammunition” was reported to police.
The man, now identified as Tony Albert, 33, “was allegedly en-route to unidentified church to fulfill what he called a prophecy.”
Officer Tanya Brown, the Seguin Police Department’s public information officer, noted in the Facebook post that, “If this subject was not stopped and apprehended the results could have ended differently.” The civilian who first notified authorities was thanked, and the off-duty officer was noted for her role in the event, as well.
Local reporting from the Seguin Gazette begins with noting that fact. “Seguin police are crediting an observant witness and quick police action for stopping a potentially deadly event … An off-duty SPD officer was the first on the scene … “
But in reporting from The New York Times, that information doesn’t get a mention until the 13th paragraph into the story. They buried the lead.
That’s likely because an off-duty police officer is almost always armed. According to KETK, the police officer, a woman, was on her way home when she took the call. That would mean a good guy with a gun — in this this case, a good woman with a gun — stopped the bad guy with a gun.
And the media can’t talk about that.
To some this would signal an agenda-driven approach to reporting. If it doesn’t fit their political narrative it doesn’t or barely gets mentioned.
The New York Times wrote about what led up to Albert being arrested. In the early morning hours, he went to a restaurant restroom and when he came out he was wearing a surgical mask, which got some attention.
He then asked ” … where the nearest Baptist church is at,” according to witness Brianna Jimenez, 18. After Jimenez and her mother pointed out a nearby church, he said he’d already been to that one years before and asked for another church that was close by.
Jimenez said ““He was looking for a church with a fountain in the back. It kind of seemed like he was on a mission to go to that church.”
He was given directions and left. Jimenez’s mother, Gabriela, noticed the man had a gun. She said that, “He had it in his hand the whole time. The way he was standing he had it in his right hand and you could not see it until he turned around to walk away.”
Once he was gone, employees locked the door and called police. It was then that the off-duty officer responded.
Officer Tanya Brown: “The Seguin Police Department is extremely grateful to the citizen who called the police.” https://t.co/OA7kkSj8al
— R Simon (@raymondpsimon) December 31, 2018
CanyonLake News reported that Albert “was booked on marijuana and felony possession of firearm charges. His bond was set at $100,000.” They noted that he has a years-long criminal history involving DUI, marijuana possession, assault against a family member, and “attempting to take a weapon from a police officer.”
The report added that a “2018 court filing wrote that he ‘(associated) with Messianic Judaism and the First Church of Cannabis’ He wrote that he used marijuana as a ‘sacrament.'”
For now, it is unknown what “prophecy” Albert believed he was supposed to fulfill by going to a Baptist church with a gun and a lot of ammunition. However, it is easy to speculate that it may have involved a mass shooting.
And that possible act of violence was stopped because of a brave civilian and an off-duty officer.
Such things should be worthy of more media attention, but sadly, it seems establishment media is only interested in a blitz of reporting when gun deaths occur, not when they are prevented.
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