People whom you know to have been shot

[kag]

55. My community still grieves for Brian Mahon

Brian was the general manager of a local ski resort. His wife Jill was (and is) a teacher at the elementary school, and taught most of the kids in our little town at one point or another. They have two daughters, the younger of whom was in the same grade as my son.

A few years ago, during the week between Christmas and New Years, one of the employees of the resort arrived at work with a gun. By all reports he was somewhat crazed, and entered the locker room where all of the lift workers and others were getting ready to head out onto the mountain. He was rambling about religion, and waving the gun around, pointing it at all of the others, eventually firing one shot into the ceiling.

Brian heard that shot, and entered the room asking what was going on. The guy pointed the gun at Brian, and asked something like "Do you believe it God?" or "What church do you go to?" or something like that. Brian responded "I'm Catholic." The guy fired one shot into Brian's chest, killing him almost instantly. The shooter then ran out the door, got into his car, and sped away.

John Seifert, a Sherriff's officer and former local cop who lives down the street from me, got the report from dispatch (911 had been called), and sped toward the resort. He was almost there when he saw a car matching the description from the report speeding in the other direction, he quickly turned around and followed it, lights and sirens blaring. At an intersection, the shooter stopped and got out of his car. John stopped, took cover behind his car door, and yelled the appropriate commands to the guy, who immediately began firing in John's direction.

Others driving toward and near the scene, stopped and ducked behind or inside of their cars.

John Seifert, serendipitously, is an expert with firearms, and teaches courses within the department on the use, handling, and safe storage of guns. Several shots were exchanged between John and Brian's murderer. There were conflicting reports about how the fire fight ended. One maintained that one of John's bullets killed the guy. Another said that the guy turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the head. I never learned which report was true, but ultimately, the guy died, and John suffered a minor wound from a bullet that grazed his ear.

John was hailed as a hero by most of our town, myself included. I truly believe that he saved lives, that the guy who killed Brian would have killed others, or at least attempted to.

This all happened in 2008. Jill and her daughters still live here, and Brian is still remembered and loved. He was killed with a semi automatic rifle with a high-capacity clip. I don't know if it was obtained legally or not.

It is possible that you read about this shooting in the paper, especially if you live anywhere near Boulder, Colorado.