Fun for Ty, Scary for Mom

A few weeks ago, Tyler was at his regular SWAT training when they got an actual SWAT call to the Chandler Mall, where someone had fired shots at police officers and then ran into the mall. Since Tyler's SWAT team was already in their gear and ready to go, they were able to arrive at the mall very quickly and start clearing people out of the mall. Usually Tyler is the sniper, so I don't worry too much about him, but this time he was the shield guy, which means you are the first one in a building holding the shield. I'm glad I didn't know this at the time, or I would have been even more worried. Knowing he was at the mall, but not hearing from him all afternoon was a nail-biting experience. I followed it closely on the news all day, watching for glimpses of him when they would show live scenes on the news.

The shooter eventually holed up in a Baja Fresh, holding hostages in the restaurant with him. Tyler was right outside the door of Baja Fresh and they were trying to decide if they should go in. The shooter told his family by telephone that he was going to shoot any police officer in sight and he knew he would be killed. However, they were finally able to talk him into giving himself up. Tyler was sure it was going to end by shooting this guy, so I'm glad it was a peaceful ending.

These are some of the pictures that were in the local news. In the top left picture, Tyler is on the right side of the SWAT vehicle, looking into the camera. That is Tyler on the bottom left picture bringing one of the hostages out of Baja Fresh.

I'm so glad Tyler is okay. It's always such a worry when there are situations like this. Needless to say, it was a relief when Tyler finally called me at about 6 p.m. when he was on his way home. I asked him his reaction to the whole afternoon and he told me it was very exciting! I guess this is what they train for and I know he's smart and prepared for this, so I all I can do is PRAY!