Raul Mendez was shot in the head while attending a Fourth of July party with his family. Now, he is speaking out about the tragic incident, and he explains how his concealed carry weapon saved everyone else in the house.
According to Fox News:
Gunshots rang out at a home in Surprise, Arizona, on the evening of July 3 as Mendez, his two daughters and his seven-month pregnant wife gathered with friends and other families to celebrate the founding of America. About 30 people were gathered in the home, including young children, as the group celebrated with fireworks and food, Mendez told Fox News Digital.
Mendez told the network:
“My back was turned. I heard the first gunshot and that’s what made me, kind of turn my head … But by the time I even was able to look and see what was going on, a bullet already had struck the side of my face.”
A neighbor of the man hosting the party joined the party shortly after and began to mingle with the group. According to Mendez, the neighbor was not close with anyone there. Police identified that neighbor as 46-year-old Jason Hunt. Police said that Hunt “opened fire unprovoked on the families and partiers.” He was the sole suspect.
Two of Mendez’s friends were killed — Conrradito Ochoa Navarro, 41, and Carl Dinora, 38 — while four others, including Mendez, were left severely injured. Mendez was shot in the head, right in front of his wife. When the wife rushed to his side, she thought she had lost her husband because of the amount of blood covering his face.
Mendez spoke about his wife’s actions:
“She barricaded the door with the dresser. There were three other children in there, not including my two daughters. A total of five kids. She … throws them in the closet, throws clothes over them. Tells them, ‘Be quiet. Do not make a peep if you hear loud noises in this room,'”
As Hunt attempted to shoot more people, two other women began fighting back. The women screamed for Mendez because they knew he had a concealed carry weapon.
Mendez described that moment:
“By the glory of God or the adrenaline and just everything, just the will to live and the will to protect my family, I was able to hear those pleas, those yells for help. I heard my name. And I was able to get up.”
Mendez was able to pull out the firearm and shoot the suspect in the chest four times.
In a press release, Sgt. Tommy Hale said:
“Detectives have determined the individual who shot Jason, and others who fought against Jason, were acting in self-defense and defense of other innocent parties.”
Mendez told Fox News Digital:
“I fully back up the Second Amendment and … this is why I’m speaking up,”
“This world is unpredictable. And honestly, at the end of the day, the people that want to ban guns, they’re only banning it from good people, not criminals. Because again, there is no gun laws for criminals.”
Another good guy with a gun saved lives. He is absolutely right. This is the biggest reason why we must defend and protect our Second Amendment rights.
Mendez is a lifetime NRA member, and he added:
“If I didn’t have my gun with me, everyone in the house would have died. The news vans would’ve been front and center. But because I did, you never even heard about it.”