Yesterday was a day filled with unimaginable horror and great courage for students and staff at Umpqua Community College. A gunman opened fire on students and staff for reasons we will never understand. We now know his name and it will be bandied about in the same breath as one mentions the Charleston church, Sandy Hook, or even Columbine shooters.

But that shooter is not who we should give even one scintilla of lip service to. Instead we should remember and give thanks to the many heroes from yesterday, especially Chris Mintz.

Chris Mintz was just starting his first round of classes at UCC, but before doing so he wrote a Facebook message to his 6 year old son, Tyrik wishing him a Happy Birthday.  And then the day took a very different turn.

Chris Mintz, 30, was in his first week of class at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, on Thursday when a man, identified by officials as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, walked into Snyder Hall, where classes are held, and started shooting.

Mintz reportedly tried “to block the door to keep the gunman from coming in,” Mintz’s aunt, Wanda Mintz, told Q13 Fox News in Oregon.

Chris’s actions yesterday morning are exactly on par for who Chris is, a retired U.S. Army veteran who served our country for 10 years. Derek Bourgeois, Chris’s cousin wasn’t surprised to hear of Chris’s actions. Chris and his cousin Derek joined the United States Army together after graduating from high school. Derek was stationed at Fort Bragg, while Chris was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington.