Jackson Jambalaya

 It wasn't a massacre in Michigan - but it could have been but for the heroism of one church deacon.  

Brian Browning opened fire on a church his mom attended last Sunday during morning services in Wayne, Michigan.  Fortunately, the only casualty was Browning as the deacon rammed him with his vehicle.  A member of the church's security detail finished the job with his trusty sidearm.  Browning succumbed to his injuries.  

The Daily Caller interviewed Trombley:  

Jay Trombley faced a choice every good man considers from time to time, and every honest man dreads.

“I heard a noise, thought it was mechanical at first, turned to see people running, asked them through a door what had happened. I thought it was in the cry room and a young woman said, 'AR-15,' and I said, 'Where?',” Trombley told local news.

Trombly had “long wondered” what he would do if he ever had to face an active shooter, ABC reported after the shootout. He had no military or law enforcement experience. He was a volunteer security guard at his local church. They had done at least some active shooter training. Still, the question remained in his mind.

Would he run away or would he run toward the threat?

“She pointed,” Trombley said, “and I headed in that direction."

Michigan Pastor Bobby Kelly Jr. has no way to explain it other than “divine providence.”

He had counseled the shooter, 31-year-old Brian Browning, twice before. The last time they had a debate over scripture. Browning wanted help, Kelly said, and he seemed “genuine.” Browning’s mother had been baptized in the church just a few months earlier.

One thing Browning said stuck out to Kelly.

“He told me he heard from the spirit of God is what he told me, and what I’m saying is it could NOT have been the spirit of God.”

What did you think when he said that, one reporter asked.

“I think he needed to be around other Christians to help him get through that.”

Months later, Browning would pull into the Crosspoint Church parking lot with a small arsenal. He approached the church and opened fire indiscriminately. It could have been devastating if not for a few seemingly chance details.

“I have to trust that the Lord allowed this to happen, and protected us from it,” Kelly said.

Months earlier, the Church had decided not to hold their outdoor worship session that week. The Sunday school, which would have typically been in the lobby, a direct line of sight to the shooter, was instead in the church sanctuary.

“[They] would have been engaged by this suspect,” Kelly stated flatly.

Trombly ran toward the gunfire.

"It was muscle memory to take care of the threat, to protect the family," Trombley said.

He could see the impact of the rounds. He was forced to take cover.

"By the grace of God, he missed me," Trombley said. The shooter had struck another security guard, Trombley noticed, but not critically.

“Evil had come to our door, but God’s hand of protection was right over us. So many things happened that can only be God-driven,” Trombley said.

“A double-paned window had stopped five rounds,” Trombley said, “to see where the rounds had impacted, would have impacted … God’s hand was protecting me.”

One deacon was arriving late to mass. We all know the feeling. Gotta get in there.

He pulled in the parking lot and saw Browning firing into the church. In everyday life, we’re rarely called with such clarity and urgency.

He centered Browning up and floored the gas.

Trombley saw and heard the truck. It had disrupted Browning.

He stepped out the door and engaged the shooter.

“I realize what happened yesterday, what my actions did,” said Trombley about taking Browning’s life. “You know, I will reconcile with the Lord in time for that. I was protecting his people.”

One thing that we all have to come to terms with this in this life is that almost none of it is fair. Just look at my business, journalism. The goofiest, most immoral and dishonest people vaunted to the highest echelons. Meanwhile, the people doing real work, real reporting, they largely go unsung. Why? How? Geez, look at Hollywood. I love Tom Cruise, but he only ever pretends to be Jay Trombley.

Courage under fire.