October of 2017 will live in infamy for those who witnessed the horror of a person who will remain nameless opening fire on a crowd of innocent concert attendees at the Route 91 festival in Las Vegas. It will probably live in infamy for the entire country who looked on, helplessly, wondering why a person would commit such a heinous crime.
It sparked the on-going debate in this country surrounding the Second Amendment. It protects the freedoms of those who wish to legally own pistols and semi-automatic weapons, with fully automatic weapons being banned but used by the military and police. It is not hard to convert semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic, which Paddock was able to do with the use of bump stocks. The legality of bump stocks is a major issue concerning politicians today.
No matter where you stand on the issue, one thing is for certain: no one should have to be the victim of a mass shooting, and we, as a society, should do everything in our power to prevent them from happening.
The videos from the scene in Las Vegas were horrifying. The images equally troubling. However, one image went viral that spoke to a message of hope. For U.S. Army soldier Matthew Cobos, he was just reacting with his training.
Because Cobos had military training, he knew to shield the woman with his body. And he also knew to cover her eyes because he didn’t want her to see the carnage going on around them. When the photo was first shared online, no one knew who the man was. But after the image went viral, Matthew Cobos came out to tell the world that he was the man who shielded the innocent woman during the bloodshed.
As the world cried over the destruction and death this person caused at the Route 91 Harvest festival, the image of Cobos protecting the blonde woman went viral.
Cobos did what he was trained to do – protect innocent Americans from terrorists like this deranged individual. As the murderer shot thousands of rounds of ammunition upon the crowd of 22,000 music lovers, he had little regard for human life.
Cobos on the other hand still had hope. And as he shielded the young woman from the bullets, he kept her eyes covered. He didn’t want her to have nightmares from all the dead bodies and blood around them.
Moments after the photo was taken, Cobos led the woman behind a nearby car where they sought protection from the gunman’s bullets.
After rescuing the woman, Cobos then used his belt as a tourniquet to help curb the bleeding other victims had. Beyond that, he also used his fingers to block bullet holes and prevent bleeding. He was a true hero when duty called.
Cobos was among the many heroes and first responders who acted fast when their fellow human needed them most. His selfless act proves we can be there for each other in times of great hardship. Our country is divided on political issues maybe more than ever before, so messages like this one need to be shared as much as possible. Here is the full video of the encounter. Make sure you share!
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