Selfless hero. One brave police officer is garnering national attention for what he said to Inland Regional Center employees during the deadly shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 2. In a video that’s since gone viral, the unidentified male officer helps the group make it to safety outside.
The video was taped by a woman named Gabi Flores, who works as a Consumer Services Coordinator at the center, which serves developmentally disabled people. At the time, no one knew if one of the suspects was still in the building. (A little boy was also a part of the group.)
“Try to relax, everyone. Try to relax,” the officer reassures them in the clip. “I’ll take a bullet before you do, that’s for damn sure.”
As the dozens of people make it to an elevator, he instructs: “Go, go, go, go. We need a couple, and we will go down in groups.”
In the aftermath of the shootings, the officer has been praised for his comments via Twitter. “Hearing the police officer say ‘I’ll take the bullet before you do’ makes [you realize] what a courageous brave job they do 24/7 #SanBernardino,” one person wrote.
A second noted: “#SanBernardino: What an amazing police officer!!”
As previously reported, 14 people have been confirmed dead and 21 are said to have been wounded during the attack. Two suspects, county employee Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, were killed during a shootout with police. The pair reportedly left their 6-month-old daughter with Farook’s mother before carrying out the mass murder. Many of the employees (the center has 670 staff members) will be interviewed in the ongoing investigation.
