- Local deacon Richard Pryor was left without a car after ramming the would-be shooter.
- Demmer Ford thanked the hero by handing him the keys to a blacked-out F-150.
- A church security guard killed the 31-year-old shooter just before he entered the church.
A quick-thinking deacon stopped what could have been a devastating tragedy at a Michigan church, and now, his community is showing its gratitude in a big way. On June 22, Richard Pryor was running late to a service at Crosspointe Community Church in Wayne when he saw something alarming: a man in a tactical vest walking toward the building with firearms.
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Pryor jumped into action, striking the man with his pickup truck and preventing him from gaining access to the church. Now, a local car dealership has stepped up and gifted the deacon a brand-new ride.
Read: Ford Dealer Sold Him The Wrong Car, Demands He Pay The Difference Weeks Later
Had the deacon not taken the decisive action he did, there could have been a mass shooting. The church was full of people at the time, and according to police, 31-year-old Brian Anthony Browning had gotten out of his Nissan pickup carrying both a long gun and a handgun before walking toward the building.
A Chilling Encounter Outside a Packed Church
While Browning had no criminal history, his mother is a member of the church, and he’s understood to have attended two or three services during the past year. Browning opened fire on Pryor’s Ford F-150, but that didn’t stop the deacon. He drove straight into the gunman, giving a church security team member just enough time to intervene and fatally shoot Browning.
Last week, Demmer Ford showed its appreciation by giving Pryor a blacked-out F-150 in recognition of his actions. Speaking at a press conference during the handover, Pryor recalled that he had been on the phone with 911 when he first saw Browning approaching.
But in that moment, he said, “I realized there was no time” and acted right away to protect those inside. “I think that’s where the Lord comes involved because it was not my actions in that sense. I was not really thinking in that process,” he added.
“I’m just so thankful for everybody’s support, for everyone who reached out after the events that Sunday,” he added. “Everything that transpired afterwards was unexpected, but I’m very grateful.”
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The incident left Pryor without a vehicle for a couple of weeks until the dealer stepped in, ABC reports. While speaking during the handover, Matt Demmer from Demmer Ford thanked the deacon for his heroic actions.
“Us, as a member of the community, we thought what can we do to help and make sure that Richard had something to drive immediately?” he said. “And then thought, how do we do more?”
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