March 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 3

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK
TABC Agent Adrian Herrera,
a true American Hero.
To be honest, this is not the original
column I had written for this
month’s issue. The original spoke
about the difference between The
BLUES and mainstream media?
Where we focused on the Hero
of the story not the villain. A year
ago this month, officers of Metro
Nashville PD stopped a shooter at
the Covenant Presbyterian Church
School. They didn’t hesitate, they
ran in, found the suspect, and took
her out. Unfortunately, not before
she killed six people.
Fast forward a year to Houston
and off duty officers working security
at Lakewood Church. A mentally
ill and yes crazy woman walked
into the mega church with her
7-year son at her side and began
shooting with an AR-15 style rifle.
On any given Saturday or Sunday,
Lakewood has dozens of off-duty
officers working security. One of
those officers on this horrific Saturday
was TABC Agent Adrian Herrera.
The minute the shooting started,
Agent Herrera ran towards the
gunfire and immediately confronted
the shooter. And at no point did he
retreat or back down. He engaged
her and fired his weapon until she
was down. Even when she claimed
she had a bomb, he continued to
neutralize the threat.
Following active shooter protocols,
Agent Herrera did exactly
what he was supposed to do. He
ran TOWARDS the gunfire and took
the shooter out. In other words, the
man is a damn hero. PERIOD
Just before we went live with
this issue, HPD released BWC and
security footage from the scene.
Since its release, social media
and cops in general from all
over the country have weighed
in on how the officers handled
the shooter. EVERYONE agrees
that had it not been for Agent
Herrera, the outcome could
have been tragic. Had this crazy
woman made it into the sanctuary,
dozens and dozens of churchgoers
would have been shot and most
likely killed.
As far as the other actions of the
officers, well let’s just say very few
kind words were used to describe
their actions or lack thereof.
I’m not going to Monday Morning
Quarterback their actions until all
the video is released. What I will
say is this.
In today’s world, active shooters
are a reality. It’s not if but when
one will strike in your town on your
shift. You may in fact be the first one
on the scene and it’s up to you to
find the shooter and take them out,
even if it means you getting shot
and possibly killed in the process.
When you were sworn in and they
pinned that badge on you, from
that minute forward, you accepted
the realty that one day you might
have to sacrifice your life to protect
another human’s life. That is the job
and that is the reality. But as my Editor
reminded me, all the training in
the world doesn’t really prepare you
for the day that bullets are coming
at you, and you’re prepared to make
the ultimate sacrifice or you’re not.
And if you’re not, you need to find
a new profession. It’s really that
simple.
Finally, in my original article, I
ranted and raved about the mainstream
media and their focus on the
shooters mental status and what
pronouns she used.
In fact, they spent days talking
about her mental issues and what
possessed her to take her son along
on a shootout. (I speculate she
wanted to die alongside her son to
teach the ex-husband a lesson.)
In both cases, the mainstream
media focused 99% of their coverage
on the suspect. But what
about the true heroes – they barely
mentioned Agent Herrera and the
off duty officers who engaged the
shooter.
I had an email exchange with
a local reporter who covered the
Lakewood shooting and asked her
why she kept referring to the shooter
as “they” or “their” and said the
shooter was a ‘man’ identifying as
a woman. NO, SHE was a SHE and
WAS A WOMAN. PERIOD! That’s how
she gave birth to a son. Why is how
they “identify” even important? Who
frickin cares if they are a woman
identifying as a man or vice versa.
The only thing that really matters is
that they are the assholes that took
innocent lives and thank God a true
hero was there to take them out.
And that hero of the day is TABC
Agent Adrian Herrera. May God bless
you and forever keep you safe.
6 The Blues - March ‘24 The Blues - March ‘24 7