Given how incredibly rare it is for the New York Times to give positive news coverage to a civilian who stopped a mass public shooting (and these occur all the time without getting news coverage), you have to give them credit when they do cover such a story.
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Jordan Salinas did not notice the new sign on the counter at his favorite coffee shop until a barista pointed it out.
Help show your support, the sign read, by contributing to a gift card for Mr. Salinas’s “bravery and selfless act during the recent tragic event.”
Customers had already pooled $630, the barista noted.
Mr. Salinas, 35, with long hair tucked under a cap and a pistol holstered on his hip, appeared to be taken aback. It didn’t feel right. The donations, the praise, the handshakes. All of it was to thank Mr. Salinas for something he wished had never happened.
He pulled out his wallet and paid for his coffee. . . .
Mr. Salinas had trained for this moment for years, studying videos of drills online in case he ever had to protect his brother and others from a potential mass shooting. He had been shooting guns for even longer — since he was in grade school, he said, if not before. Back then he shot at a broken television in the backyard. Over the years, he had drawn his gun only at targets.
He had long wondered about how he would react to an active shooter. Now, he was looking down his sight at another man.
He raised his handgun. . . .
Mr. Salinas returned to parts of his daily life, too. He petted horses, watched YouTube videos and picked up coffee at his go-to cafe. He has struggled with what to say, what to feel and what to think about those who try to claim him as a member of their political tribe. Yes, he’s grateful for Idaho’s gun laws, which allow most people to carry a concealed gun without a license. And he hopes other people consider safely carrying a gun and learning how to respond to a similar attack.
Mr. Salinas, who described himself as “pro-freedom,” said he cares about politics. But in that moment in the In-N-Out parking lot, politics was the last thing on his mind. . . .
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