Because we never know when evil will strike.
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=61045ATLANTA (NNS) -- A Navy officer recently commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) Atlanta Consortium and recent graduate of Georgia State University, was recognized for heroism during a ceremony on board the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) campus, June 14.
Ensign Sean Barner, from Stone Mountain, Ga., was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his actions occuring May 3, 2009, when he intervened and stopped two armed assailants during an attempted robbery, and then provided immediate medical assistance by applying tourniquets to one of the gun shot victims.
Family members and coworkers witnessed the award presentation in the O'Keefe building's Joint Forces auditorium at Georgia Tech.
The Atlanta Consortium is made up of schools with NROTC units at Georgia Tech and Morehouse University. Georgia State University is a cross-town affiliate of the Georgia Tech unit.
The incident took place in College Park, Ga., while Barner attended a party with five men and four women. Two masked and armed men entered the apartment while Barner and a friend were outside. Upon returning to the apartment, Barner was met by the two armed robbers who had rounded up the men and women in the living room.
After being robbed of their personal belongings, the six men were ordered to a back bedroom while two women were taken to a second bedroom with one assailant while the other two women were taken to the living room with the other assailant.
In the back bedroom, Barner and the other five men overheard the perpetrator's plan to rape the women and shoot all the victims.
"Knowing that this was not a nice area of town, I brought along a firearm which I left in my book bag," said Barner, who is licensed under the Georgia Weapons Carry laws. "I was lucky that the room I was locked in had my book bag and had not been searched."
Barner escaped the bedroom with his firearm and went to the living room where he fired several shots at one of the armed assailants causing him to flee.
Barner then went to the bedroom where two females were being held with by the other assailant. He kicked down the door and entered the room, shooting the assailant and causing him to flee out the window.
That assailant was later found dead near the apartment from gunshot wounds. One of the females was also caught in the ensuing crossfire and received gunshot wounds.
"I'm glad I took my Marine Corps training seriously," said Barner. "I was blessed to have the ability to handle the situation the way I did and prevent anyone else from getting further injured."
