Matt McQuinn and Samantha Yowler
Last week we saw the very worst of human nature. The Colorado movie theatre massacre has sent everyone reeling, as we’re left asking ourselves “how could a person do such a thing?”
But sometimes the most horrific of events can reveal the very best of humanity as well as the worst.
Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn and Alex Teves were killed in that movie theatre. These three men were shot while using their own bodies to shield their partners from the bullets.
Jansen Young was Jon Blunk’s girlfriend and has shared the story of their love affair and of how Jon died with the Daily News in New York:
“He’s a hero, and he’ll never be forgotten,” a tearful Jansen Young told the Daily News of Blunk. “Jon took a bullet for me.”
She was too distraught to speak more, but her mother called Blunk, 25, who had two young children from a previous relationship, “a gentleman.”
“He was loving, the kind of guy you want your daughter to be with, and ultimately, she’s alive because of this, because he protected her,” Shellie Young said…
Jansen Young, 21, said Blunk took her to see Friday’s midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” to celebrate her graduation from veterinarian school. As the black-clad killer burst into the theater and unleashed tear gas and a torrent of indiscriminate gunfire, Blunk selflessly protected his girlfriend.
Jon Blunk and Jansen Young
He pushed Jansen on the ground and under her seat, then threw his body on top of her, the mother said. “He was 6-feet-2, in incredible shape, which is why he was able to push her down under the seats of the theater,” the mother said. “He pushed her down on the floor and laid down on top of her and he died there.”
…Jansen Young told her mother she could feel Blunk holding her tight as chaos reigned in the movie theater. She said she heard a woman nearby screaming, “I’ve been shot!” and recalled the “boom, boom, boom” of gunfire and smelling gunpowder.
“There was kind of a break in between each gunshot,” Jansen told the “Today” show. “Every gunshot, I was like, ‘This is it . . . I’m done for.’ Jon gave me one good push against that concrete again and then . . . I didn’t really feel his arms against my back anymore but I knew he was still there.”
When the shooting subsided, she realised Blunk was shot. “I started shaking him and saying, ‘Jon, Jon, we have to go . . . it’s time for us to get out of here,’” she said, adding that she tried to pull Blunk by the shoulder, but he didn’t move….
The stories of Matt McQuinn’s and Alex Teves’ heroism are just as heartbreaking:
…the 24-year-old Teves, who hurled his girlfriend to the floor as bullets whizzed through the theater.
Alex Teves and Amanda Lindgren
“He pushed her to the floor to save her and he ended up getting a bullet,” said his aunt, Barbara Slivinske, 57. “He was gonna hit the floor himself, but he never made it…”
…Samantha Yowler had a similar story of horror and heroism about her boyfriend, Matt McQuinn, whose last living act was to shield her from death. Yowler, 26, survived with a gunshot wound to the knee and is in fair condition after undergoing surgery.
[Matt] McQuinn’s family credited his quick actions for saving Samantha’s life. Witnesses said he dove on top of his girlfriend as the shooting started and that Samantha’s brother, Nick, who was also in the theater, helped get her out of harm’s way. Nick Yowler was unharmed in the shooting.
“Both the Yowler and McQuinn families thank everyone for their concerns, thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” the McQuinns’ lawyer, Robert Scott, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Matt perished from the injuries he sustained during the tragic events that unfolded . . . and went home to be with his maker.”
Comments
41 Comments so far
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This is why, through all the bullshit about washing up and ironing shirts and keeping salami in the fridge for his lunches – this is why I love my man. Because I would die protecting our child and he would die protecting either one of us. And I cry about how well I know this – sitting safe on the steps outside our apartment. There’s no debate here – if you know the love of a good man – be it your father, your brother, your boyfriend, friend or husband – you can know what it was that these men did, and bloody well feel devastated with these women whose loss is immense. X
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This act or terrorism is like a horror movie. He destroyed many lives.
As for chivalry. I am glad it exists. There is no disputing that men are stronger than women and in some cases need to protect women just like women need to protect children. It’s about protecting the weaker person from harms way. Human instinct tells us to do that. These men didn’t have a chance to debate whether their actions were sexist or not. They acted on impulse and the desire to protect the people they love.
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This is just heart breaking.
I remember when reading after Port Arthur and being staggered by the number of men who died protecting the women in their lives.
Young and old the impulse was to protect their wives, with their own bodies and lives if necessary.
Good men – doing the last thing they possibly can to thwart evil men.
Shockingly heart breaking.
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I saw on the news tonight that the youngest fatality was a little six year old girl and her pregnant mother is in hospital paralysed as a result of being shot in the back, with the fate of her unborn child unknown. I gave my little girl and husband an extra big cuddle tonight and go to bed praying for those affected and so grateful for a peace filled day today. Good night everyone…
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Tried to use the ‘Alert moderator’ button to report this nonsense, but it didn’t work; just thought I should let MM know.
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This makes me so, so sad for those people in that cinema- and at the same time i am so angry that those people who died had their lives taken in a second because some guy just felt like it.
I struggle to swallow when i imagine if that were to ever happen to me and my partner- i couldn’t even go on- especially in that way.
im so sad for those who died, and for their families and loved ones.
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I very much doubt he “just felt like it”. I think it’s highly likely he is very, very ill. Should be locked away, yes, for the safety of the community. And it’s hideously tragic what happened.
But we like to assume these sorts of things are done by a monster, by some kind of “other”.
Moralising achieves nothing.
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Tears for everyone involved but more so for the families of those noble young men!
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Heart breaking. Just this morning I was reading about the professor who used his body to block the door during the Virginia Tech massacre and saved all but one of his students doing so. Remarkably, he had survived the Holocaust.
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Crying.
What heroes.
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Crying.
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It’s moments like these that really bring people together. It should never have happened, but it does and it sometimes the evil that can show us the beautiful side of humanity. Love, respect, and selflessness are always going to trump hate.
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Terribly, terribly sad. I’m devastated for them.
Well done to these men. I hope their girlfriends are able to recover from this and in time move past the horror to make full use of this gift.
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This post is just so incredibly sad. I have read about these astonishing acts of bravery and selflessness over the last couple of days and it’s astounding. These men, in a split second, put themselves in harms way to save those they loved.
Let’s hope that in time, their girlfriends can find some solace in the fact that they obviously loved them enough to lay down their lives for them and that their families can have some peace. I’m also hoping for a swift and just sentence for the killer.
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I’ve been having nightmares since this happened. I have a 4 month old too (there was one in the theatre and early reports said it had been killed) and in my dream I’m there with my babe on the floor with my body covering her and I can’t decide if it is better to stay over her, or to push her under the chair in front incase I’m shot and fall on her and suffocate her. I’m still frantically deciding when I wake up…
Heroes these men. What a wonderful gift to have given their loved ones.
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Oh how awful… You’ve obviously been traumatised by this
Hope these horrible dreams leave you soon…
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while these are very touching stories, it is interesting that you publish so many articles about feminism yet are sooo wowed by male heroics. where are the stories of girlfriends saving boyfriends? in saying that though, i am not discrediting what these men did, it took a lot of courage and strength, but am pointing out something that I have often found with the site, chivalry is shown as the pinnacle of humanity and male domination is said to be the worst form of evil. Yet both are no were near the gender equality that this site so often writes about, so there is a major contradiction.
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Some people are never happy, after endless stories of men being bastards there is finally a story about men doing what they should, which is to protect and defend, and you complain that it’s not gender equal?
These guys showed the ultimate in devotion to women and you can’t acknowledge it? What more do men have to do for you to simply say, “he was a good man”
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They were good men, sacrificing themselves themselves for their loved ones. Self-sacrifice is traditionally seen as being displayed by paragons of masculinity in their aspect of protectors. (Yes women sacrifice too.)
I think many men don’t want this sort of behaviour to be expected of them for two reasons:
1) It pressures men to self-sacrifice. See ‘The Order of the White Feather’ during The Great War. 15yo boys went and died in the trenches because little girls gave them feathers.
2) The nobility of the choice to give up their lives for others resonates louder if there is no compulsion to do so.
For these reasons I don’t want people thinking that only ‘real men’ sacrifice themselves for others.
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natalia, the reason is women don’t sacrifice their lives anywhere near the degree with which men have and do, so it’s nice to balance out the bad things men do more often with those men who also do good.
Chivalry tells men they are less worthy than women and that they must sacrifice themselves, it’s toxic and sexist to everyone, but it exists because there are massive numbers of women who still demand it and sexual selection takes care of actions.
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Disagree. Women frequently sacrifice their lives, particularly when protecting their children but in plenty of other capacities too.
Chivalry doesn’t tell a man he’s less worthy, imho. It tells him he should use his strength for a good cause.
In the same way that mother who die for their kids don’t do so because they believe they are less worthy, but because they believe themselves to be their child’s protector.
Did these women “demand” that their men save them? Heck, there wasn’t even time for a bit of nagging, or even, I’d wager, for those men to even think about how their actions might bring about their own deaths. Their sacrifices were impulsive actions motivated by love.
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“Women frequently sacrifice their lives”
I NEVER said they didn’t, I completely agree and there’s no need to put words in my mouth.
My point is men sacrifice themselves a lot more often in accordance to sexual selection.
I’m pretty sure men protect their children just as often, but my question to you is how many women are taught that in order to be a good female you have to protect your husband.
It’s a cultural thing, instigated by generations. It’s real, but a cursory glance at most of those employed in the protective services would at least shed light, but watching a fireMAN carry a lady out of a burning building would surely seal the deal.
“Did these women “demand” that their men save them?”
Completely irrelevant when my point was it is cultural and men are taught it to the point of it been instinctive.
“Chivalry doesn’t tell a man he’s less worthy, imho. It tells him he should use his strength for a good cause.”
We can disagree on this and you’re right to your opinion is the same as mine. I still posit that telling a human being that they should sacrifice themselves for another is telling them they are less worthy, because I think life is the ultimate value. Culturally reinforcing this with values happens.
@Faybs – Good to resume our pleasant discussions and good to see you launch straight into ad hominem attacks in your first line, followed by accusations in your last.
Again, there are many women who DEMAND machismo and a man who can protect them – Fact.
This is sexual selection – Fact
Men therefor protect said women – Fact
Eagerly awaiting where I went wrong
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Me ^^^
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I can see where we disagree. I don’t believe life is the ultimate value. Love is. So I guess we are coming at this from very different perspectives.
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Women are taught by socety to protect and care for their man. I believe your view of protect though is limited to the physical, which becomes difficult for a women who doesn’t have the same level of strength. So it becomes pretty difficult if a man is already bested by someone of greater strength. Women protect their men in other emotional or non physical ways, which are no less relevent.
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Oh good God. I think you need a bex and a lie down.starts with a generalisation in your comment, followed by what appears to be a compliment, followed by a deliberate misinterpretation of the word chivalry, an insult, followed by another Generalisation.
I think the article on feminism soured you a bit today.
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Wake up to yourself… The story is about humanity at its best at a time when everybody is wondering what the world is coming too. You’re the one trying to turn it into a male v female thing. Can’t believe you’d even think along those lines, let alone actually publish the comments. Pfffft!
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My thoughts exactly.
Didn’t once occur to me that this was a guy / girl thing but a humanity story.
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This story could have easily been about a mother dying to protect her children. Don’t turn it into something it isn’t. People die protecting people they love , be they male or female, it’s a hugely selfless act. This senseless act in Colrado shows the best and worst or humanity – not just men.
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Yeah I’m sorry but I think you’ve missed the point a little..
A reason I can guess at for why we rarely hear of the heroic girlfriends/wives, is because the men are generally physically stronger. In a situation of danger, I would try to protect my boyfriend and he would do the same for me. He would win though, because he is a lot bigger and stronger than I am, and always will be.
I think we’re wowed by any sort of heroics, these people just happened to be boyfriends protecting their girlfriends and ultimately sacrificing their lives. We are not wowed specifically because they’re men, but I think we shouldn’t begrudge them the credit because they’re men either, just in the name of ‘equality’.
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Absolutely ridiculous comment – bottom line.
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At the end of the day this is a man’s job – to sacrifice himself if required to protect the lives of women and children although thankfully the need very rarely arises. Should add it’s not just men, a mother’s job includes sacrificing her life for her children if required. There’s a lot of male privilege in our society but it comes with a price and this is one of them. Saying they did no more than they should have though doesn’t diminish their heroism.
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Your comment actually made me very angry….
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There’s a time and a place for this sort of discussion, and this post is definitely not it… these men lost their lives protecting the women they loved. MM is reporting on it because they were completely selfless and yes, it is incredibly heroic. But the report is not here because they are men- had it of been a woman who died protecting her partner/ child/ friend her story would have been here too. Have some respect.
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It says something that your comment has zero likes.
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i don’t think this article is the correct forum for that argument – its pretty tasteless to bring that into it- regardless of contradictions on the site.
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Are you kidding Natalia? How could you relate this story to anything but a wonderful display of love.
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Natalia, this has to be the most ridiculous comment I have ever read on this website. What kind of person even thinks of something this stupid, and then writes it in a comment and publishes for everyone to see. You are so sad, I actually feel sorry for you.
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Just after I read this, I was looking at another article which seems related:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-ordinary-heroes-who-stood-up-20120723-22kbc.html
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I can’t even begin to comprehend what it would be like to go through that. Those men were truly brave and selfless.
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