Groom Hailed as Hero After Giving Up His Life To Save Others from Gunman
Husband-to-be Christopher Smith died while saving the lives of others from a gunman at his own bachelor party in Indianapolis.
It was supposed to be a night of laughter and celebration as Smith, 41, prepared to marry his fiancée, Schena Singer, in approximately two weeks.
But the bachelor party turned deadly when an unidentified man inside Jake’s Pub in Indianapolis pulled out a gun.
Smith, who was with friends and family, including his future son-in-law, reportedly decided to try and tackle the man in hopes of preventing a shooting.
“Chris, seeing and knowing his son-in-law and friends were there in line of fire, he tried to tackle him and the guy opened fire,” Shanon Singer-Mann, Smith’s soon-to-be sister-in-law, told Inside Edition.
“[He] shot Chris then just kept shooting within the bar.”
Smith died as a result of the gunshot wound, a tragedy that his family is struggling to understand.
“His kids are in shock and we’re all just devastated,” Singer-Mann said. “And with the holidays, I don’t know if we truly are coping. We’re just simply doing the best we can to honor him.”
Singer-Mann told WXIN that her sister had to abruptly shift gears from anticipating her own bachelorette party to planning a funeral.
“To go from supposed to be going to your bachelorette party to having to go and plan your fiance’s funeral, it’s just so tragic,” Singer-Mann said. “You’ll never understand why something like this happens, never.”
An Indiana man died while protecting others from a gunman at his own bachelor party. https://t.co/Fgu6JZ5aZZ
— Inside Edition (@InsideEdition) December 4, 2019
Smith’s family believes that his decision to go after the gunman prevented what could have been more lives lost that night.
“It does not surprise me Chris selflessly jumped up,” Singer-Mann said. “He’s always known to help the ones he loves, and even ones he doesn’t even know.”
According to Singer-Mann, Smith’s organs are set to be donated.
“Again, saving more lives,” she said.
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