Real heroes don’t wear capes, they wear collared shirts and drive pickup trucks and protect their community with courage most of us can only imagine.
Richard Pryor, a deacon at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, was sitting in his Ford F-150 when he spotted a man dressed in fatigues and carrying weapons approach the church on June 22.
“As soon as he got out of the vehicle, I saw the fatigues, I saw the gun on his hip, and he pulled the weapon out of his vehicle,” Pryor told WXYZ-TV.
The man started firing multiple shots at the church.
What happened next was the kind of split-second decision that separates bystanders from saviors.
Pryor hit the gas, using his truck to ram the shooter and disrupt what police say could have been a large-scale massacre.
The gunman fired into Pryor’s truck, disabling the engine.
“He shot a round through the truck and in those few seconds, I realized the truck was dead and I didn’t have a weapon on me,” Pryor recalled of the harrowing incident.
Thankfully, armed church staff were able to neutralize the shooter, but Pryor’s bold actions likely bought them the precious seconds they needed.
Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong confirmed that Pryor and other staff undoubtedly saved lives.
The suspect, 31-year-old Brian Anthony Browning, was said to have been suffering from a mental health crisis, according to police.
His motivations remain unknown.
He was shot and killed by church staff after being struck by Pryor’s vehicle.
This past week, in a gesture of gratitude, a local business stepped up in a big way.
Demmer Ford, just down the road from the church, presented Pryor with a brand-new 2025 Ford F-150 PowerBoost with a two-year lease.
“He was incredibly grateful for it and was almost standoffish like he doesn’t deserve it, which is certainly not the case,” said dealership owner Matthew Demmer.
Pryor’s 2018 truck, which he used for work, was totaled during the incident.
“I can’t be more than enough thankful for everybody’s support,” Pryor said. “The Lord was definitely involved in the events of that Sunday.”
This could have been a story about Christians who died in their pews.
Instead, it is one about community, courage, and giving.
Pryor likely didn’t wake up planning to be a hero on his way to church last month. But when evil showed up, he did what good men do — he took action, putting himself and his property last.
And thanks to people like Demmer, his story didn’t end with that sacrifice.
It ended with a blessing.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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