Innocent people were murdered at Umpqua Community College on Thursday morning but it could have been worse if not for the actions of 30 year old MMA fan Chris Mintz. Lost in the cowardly actions of a lone gunman on an Oregon college campus was the bravery of Minz who was shot five times while charging straight at the gunman in an effort to save his classmates.
In the face of fear Mintz’s went against the basic human instinct of survive and advance; he ran directly into danger despite himself.
Mintz is also a huge mixed martial arts fan with an amateur record of his own from 2011-2012. In the wake of Mintz’s story the army vet’s fandom for one Chael Sonnen has also come to light. MMA to real life danger comparisons are pretty shaky but Mintz just pulled off a first round arm triangle on life then proceeded to a cut a promo at danger before dropping the mic in the center of the cage.
The Daily Beast with more on Mintz’s heroism
“When word of Mintz’s heroism reached his kin in his native North Carolina, his cousin Derek Bourgeois was hardly surprised.
“It sounds like something he would do,” Bourgeois said.
Bourgeois was somewhat amazed that a guy who survived a combat deployment without serious injury had come so close to being killed in a small Oregon town not unlike the one in North Carolina where they grew up together.
Bourgeois said he and Mintz had both joined the Army after graduating from high school. Bourgeois had been stationed in Fort Bragg, but Mintz had been sent to Fort Lewis in Washington state.
After leaving the Army, Mintz had moved to Oregon and done a bit of mixed martial arts. He had been working at the local YMCA while he enrolled at the community college with an eye toward becoming a fitness trainer.”
A GoFundMe page has been sent up by Mintz’s family to help with surgery costs associated with the two broken legs and gunshot wounds he suffered during Thursday’s shooting.
