Church guard gains hero status
Ex-cop 'was very focused' as she 'took him down'
By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News
Published December 11, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated December 11, 2007 at 11:54 a.m.
Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky
Security guard Jeanne Assam, 42, is led from a Monday press conference inside Colorado Springs police headquarters by New Life Church Pastor Brady Boyd, back right, and Associate Pastor Mike Steczo. On Sunday, Assam shot and killed Matthew Murray, who police say was responsible for shootings at New Life and, earlier Sunday, at Youth With A Mission in Arvada that left five people dead, including the gunman.
The gunshots echoed like thunder in the hallway filling with smoke and the panic of those who sensed death at their shoulder.
The black-clad gunman coming through the church door was bringing hell to the believers.
The only thing in his way was Jeanne Assam.
"People were running away from where the shots were fired. I saw him through the chaos," Assam said Monday as she searched for some of the calm that carried her through the nightmare that played out inside New Life Church the day before.
"It seemed like it was me, the gunman and God," said Assam, whose hands trembled slightly as she spoke during the afternoon news conference.
Assam took cover and waited for the gunman to get close.
"God was with me. I was very focused. My hands weren't even shaking," said Assam, a volunteer security guard at New Life.
"I identified myself and engaged him then took him down," Assam said, giving a clinical account of the moment when she fired the shot ending the gunman's rampage.
"I didn't think for a minute to run away," she said.
A witness close enough to be hit by a bullet fragment is one of those who credits Assam with saving lives that day.
"She kept yelling, 'Surrender.' She was not flinching. It was unbelievable," said Larry Bourbonnais, 59, a New Life parishioner who was slightly injured on his left arm.
The gunman had fatally wounded two teenage girls in the parking lot before entering the building. But, New Life Pastor Brady Boyd said, if the attacker had made it another 60 feet down the hall, he could have shot hundreds of parishioners still inside.
Bourbonnais said the gunman was dressed in black with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Bourbonnais said he took cover behind a pillar as gunshots were exchanged.
Through the smoke that came from devices police had shot into the facility, Bourbonnais said he saw the gunman's head tilt forward, and then he fell to the ground.
"There were two other armed guards, but they weren't doing anything. I asked one of them to give me their gun so I could take the guy out," said Bourbonnais, a Colorado Springs resident who said he is a Vietnam veteran.
"I asked her, 'How are you so calm?' She said, 'I was praying to the Holy Spirit the whole time to direct me,' " Bourbonnais said recalling Assam's words. "The whole thing probably lasted 30 seconds."
Assam, who said she has been a member of New Life for a few months, said the incident happened on the last day of a three-day fast she had been on as part of her religious practice.
"I was weak. God made me strong. I'm honored God chose me," she said.
Assam said she read about the shootings in Arvada earlier in the day and "got chills."
A small woman with feathered blonde hair and eyes that were bloodshot, Assam said she had not slept since the tragedy and can't get the sound of the gunshots out of her head.
The shots were so loud, Assam said, it sounded like they were fired inside the church.
A former officer with the Minneapolis police, Assam delivered her story with the clipped understatement of a street cop.
But she broke the tension when asked about her personal background.
"I'm single. No kids," she said, quickly adding she was on the lookout for a man. She drew a laugh when she first declined to give her age; then said she was 25. She is 42, according to public records.
Assam grew up in Sioux Falls, S.D., went to Hamline University and graduated with a criminal justice degree, said her twin sister, Jennifer, of Sioux Falls. She has five sisters and a brother.
She worked with the Minneapolis police for several years in the late '90s before leaving the department and moving to Colorado in 2000.
Lt. Robert Kroll, vice president of the Minneapolis Police Union, confirmed that Assam was fired over "truthfulness issues." In an internal investigation, Assam had denied she used derogatory language in an encounter with a citizen in the late 1990s, but a videotape proved differently, Kroll said. Assam appealed, but the firing was upheld by an arbitrator.
Boyd said that Assam is one of 12 members of his congregation who volunteer to work as guards at New Life. Half of those volunteers carry firearms, he said, and all of those are licensed.
"She's a real heroine to me and the New Life Church," Boyd said.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune contributed to this report.
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December 11, 2007
7:30 a.m.
Suggest removal
Classof80 writes:
Now here's a young lady that took care of the business at hand. Its a true testament to those who have concealed weapons permit. She was able to stop the threat and keep alot of people from losing there lives.
December 11, 2007
7:48 a.m.
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socrates writes:
She's a security guard. What makes you think the weapon was concealed in any way?
December 11, 2007
8:02 a.m.
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smith writes:
God Bless You, Ms. Assam!
December 11, 2007
8:09 a.m.
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kathyM writes:
Ms. Assam, you rock!
December 11, 2007
8:32 a.m.
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vicb writes:
You never know when God will designate you as an angle. Ms Assam you were a designated angle for thos who were saved.
December 11, 2007
9:34 a.m.
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becket writes:
Are you religious nuts so blind to question who this hero is. You don't get fired from a police dept in Minnesota for yelling at a bus driver, there is much more to her (his?) story. Check it out RMN.
December 11, 2007
10:01 a.m.
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mrw650 writes:
She must have said she was 25 with a wink. ;)
If you're reading this Jeanne! You did the will of God, protecting INNOCENT life.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
December 11, 2007
10:17 a.m.
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mrw650 writes:
Ah Becket, so quick to be ungrateful and to criticize. Christians are not perfect. We are all sinners, thanks!
What's your problem? A woman can't be a hero? No one can be redeemed of their past? God says different.
BTW I doubt you'd be saying such things if it was YOUR butt she saved.
December 11, 2007
10:48 a.m.
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Jeff writes:
Does anyone know what's the case with the three days of fasting? I've never heard of that in the Christian religions.
December 11, 2007
10:58 a.m.
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fiesty writes:
Geez, so she made a mistake in the past- over 10 years ago! Get over it. People change. Are you [Basket] saying you're perfect, and have never made a mistake in judgment? No one is perfect, but a person of character LEARNS from their mistakes.
Judge her character by her actions today. A woman in church. A woman who stayed calm, and did her job- unlike the other two guards who froze in shock. Mrs. Assam is a hero no matter her past. She deserves credit for her actions TODAY, not to have the past dredged up especially since it's not even remotely relevant.
December 11, 2007
11:04 a.m.
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JustSayin writes:
mrw650 wrote: "You did the will of God, protecting INNOCENT life."
So was the death of the four innocents the will of god, also? Just askin'
December 11, 2007
12:35 p.m.
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stankwell writes:
Need DETAILS. Like: what kind of gun did she use?
December 11, 2007
2:28 p.m.
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nmmountainjack writes:
What a lady! I'm a willing candidate for helping her become un-single. I've applied for my concealed carry permit too and would do the same as she did under the circumstances. It's too bad there wasn't someone with a concealed carry in Omaha last week!
December 11, 2007
4:36 p.m.
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theairdog writes:
Socrates,
You would be wise to research a subject before you open your mouth.
The only way that she could carry a gun as a citizen, whether she is a Security Guard or not, would be to obtain he Colorado Concealed Carry permit. In theory, Colorado is an Open Carry State, but the legal definition of Felony Menacing, precludes carrying a weapon in an open manner that alarms others. In addition, the articles clearly state that she was a VOLUNTEER.
This is a clear case of what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they penned the Second Amendment. The Militia at that time was nothing more than private citizens who provided their own firearms and volunteered to defend when danger threatened. During times of National Crisis, these citizens where organized under Military organization.
Thank God that Colorado is a Shall-Issue Concealed Carry state - otherwise she may not have had the privilege of carrying a gun during this crisis.
December 11, 2007
7:04 p.m.
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greeneggsandham1961 writes:
I think there should be more people carrying openly or concealed it doesn't matter, as long as there are good guys (men and women) carrying to defeat the whacko's that are among us. I am a gun owner and I am also going though the process of getting a CCP from Douglas County. I am very grateful that Jeanne Assam was there and had the presence of mind to take charge of the situation. As for what she did in the past .... so what, who is without past sins? I commend her for her courage and also the compassion the she showed to everyone even to the killer himself. I would also like to ask what the other guards were thinking??? I mean come on guys you are hiding and too afraid to pull your weapons? Shame on you ... if what the news outlets are saying is true you should never endanger lives like this, that is one of the first things that my instructor taught us. Any how KUDOS Ms Assam, keep your chin up and thank you for risking your life for your fellow man...
Tony G
Castle Rock
December 11, 2007
7:08 p.m.
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Jenlane writes:
What a sad world we live in when a hero would potentially think twice about putting her life on the line to save others when potentially painful events in her life could be exposed. I am sickened to see that anyone is even looking into her personal life! Thank god that she was there on that day to prevent further loss of life! Now leave her personal and private life...PERSONAL AND PRIVATE!!!!
From my family to you MS. Assam, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your heroism! :)
December 11, 2007
10:14 p.m.
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Minnesota_Moonbat writes:
re: Reality_Check:
Only a truly pathetic person would try to distract from Ms. Assam's brave actions against this deranged gunman by bringing up some 10 year old non-story. This woman stopped a guy armed with a thousand rounds of ammo intent on murdering as many people as possible, that is all any normal person cares about.
I see a lot of stories now that she is not getting 'credit' for firing the fatal shot, that the cowardly gunman offed himself. Did the fact that she shot the gunman in the hallway prevent more carnage or not? Why all the effort to try to discredit this woman?
December 11, 2007
10:24 p.m.
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Francesca writes:
Good grief. The people slamming this woman must be letter perfect in every way to be making such harsh judgments. Like nobody has ever told even a little fib.
Reality_Check c'mon now, if your wife asks you if her butt looks big in that dress or if her hair looks okay, oh never mind. You probably don't have a wife.
December 13, 2007
11:05 a.m.
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rg writes:
God does not intervene in human affairs. One god out of millions says: Don't pray. The Father knows of your need before you ask, and even then does not intervene. It is gross stupidty to think god would favor one teenager over the other. Richard Grimes, deicide r22037@yahoo.com at Denver
Deicide Corner: “The greatest contribution nonbelievers have made to the world has been the Constitution of the United States. Consider how very heretical to a religious world was the idea of a Constitution predicated on 'We, the People.'” -- Queen Silver, "Humanity's Gain from Unbelief,"
December 13, 2007
8:14 p.m.
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KMadison writes:
Of course it is an honorable thing that she did. She did save lives, however, officers of the law do the same thing every day and there is not a world recognition for that. Can anyone name an officer who responded to the Columbine shootings or 9/11?
December 30, 2007
6:16 p.m.
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mrw650 writes:
Charles_B: no more impotent than you are.