RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Rutherford County man’s daughter was inside one of the military office facilities and survived the deadly Chattanooga shootings.
Now, he’s making it his mission to ensure military personnel can properly protect themselves.
Daniel Vincent, of Rockvale, happened to be working in Chattanooga July 16 when he received a call from his daughter, Sgt. Amanda Vincent, about the shooting.
“None of them were armed; they were all pretty much sitting ducks,” Vincent said.
Just about every emotion you can think of, Vincent experienced that tragic day.
“From anger to fear to joy, an overwhelming blessing that Amanda survive, and felt remorse for the families of the Marine and Sailor who didn’t make it,” he said.
Vincent said his daughter hid behind a desk as Muhammad Yossuf Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire. She then ran to a back office at the Naval Reserve Center and warned others about the shooter, according to her father.
“She was probably six feet away, eight feet away at the most, when he started shooting,” he said.
Vincent wants to make sure his daughter and other service people are armed and can protect themselves.
“Our biggest message is to arm our service people,” Vincent said. “We’re at war with radical Islam and whether people in Washington want to admit it or not, it’s happening. Until we identify, recognize and identify the problem and the threat, then events like this one will continue to happen.”
Vincent said the military has done a good job providing counseling and other support for those servicemen and women who survived the shooting.
