Top 10 Times Normal People Defeated Evil
#10: Temar Boggs & Chris Garcia
In 2013, Jocelyn Rojas was playing at her home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when she suddenly vanished. The community and the police quickly began searching for her, including teenagers Boggs and Garcia. The duo then spotted Rojas in a car driven by an unknown adult. While on their bikes, Boggs and Garcia chased after them. Around 15 minutes later, seeing no option, the driver pulled over and let Rojas out before speeding away as Boggs and Garcia looked after her and reunited the child with her family. The culprit, 73-year-old Harold Herr, who has a history of similar incidents, later pleaded guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to 50 to 100 years in jail.
#9: Jonathan Smith
In 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas. He took 60 lives and injured hundreds. However, if it wasn’t for Smith, those figures would’ve been higher, as he began directing people to safety. However, when Smith went to aid a group of children, he was struck by a bullet in the neck. Thankfully, off-duty police officer Tom McGrath got to him to help control the bleeding and save Smith's life. It’s believed Smith saved around 30 people. Another hero of the tragedy was Marine veteran Taylor Winston. After stealing a nearby truck, he collected over two dozen injured victims and drove them to the hospital before ambulances arrived at the scene.
#8: Lisa McVey
In 1984, as a teenager, McVey was cycling home after work in Tampa, Florida, when she was pushed into a car. From there, she was taken to a property, all while experiencing assaults from the abductor. Yet despite the trauma, McVey memorized details of the vehicle and residence, leaving as much physical evidence as she could. On top of that, she pretended to make a connection with the criminal. She stated they could date and talked about personal issues. This led to her release. Soon, McVey spoke to the police, who followed her insights and evidence to Bobby Joe Long, a serial killer who’d taken ten lives. He was executed in 2019, with McVey watching, who became a police officer after her experience with him.
#7: Brandon Tsay
In 2023, Huu Can Tran walked into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, a place he'd frequented decades before, and opened fire. He took 11 lives and injured nearly as many. Next, Tran went to nearby Alhambra and ventured into the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio. He then came face-to-face with Tsay, whose family owned the venue. Believing this would be his last action, Tsay lunged at Tran and disarmed him. Tran then ran away, later taking his own life. Tsay went on to help his community heal from the tragedy. Due to his incredible actions in saving untold lives, then-President Joe Biden recognized Tsay’s heroics at the State of the Union address after he was invited as Jill Biden’s guest.
#6: Everyone Helping Stop the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack
In 2007, with a vehicle containing flammable and explosive material, extremists Bilal Abdullah and Kafeel Ahmed drove into the entrance of Glasgow Airport. When it didn’t detonate, the duo tried other attack methods . Several bystanders made Scotland incredibly proud that day. Michael Kerr lost multiple teeth and suffered a broken leg after fighting one of them. Alex McIlveen punted one of the attackers in the crouch so hard that he tore a tendon in his foot. Stephen Clarkson helped subdue another. Henry Lambie helped put out fires and helped with the arrest. Off-duty officer Stewart Ferguson also helped extinguish fires. Michael MacDonald got people to safety and helped subdue an attacker. Finally, John Smeaton pulled Kerr to safety. Amazingly, there was only one fatality, Ahmed.
#5: Everyone Stopping Usman Khan
In 2019, convicted extremist Khan was out on parole and was attending an offender rehabilitation conference in London, England. Suddenly, he threatened to use a fake explosive vest strapped to him as he began stabbing people, taking two lives and injuring three. However, if it weren’t for the actions of several heroes, that count would’ve been higher. Łukasz Koczocik used an ornamental spear to deter Khan, while Darryn Frost used a narwhal tusk. Prisoners on day-release to attend a program, John Crilly and Steven Gallant, the latter of whom was convicted of murder, also fought Khan. Crilly famously used a fire extinguisher in the battle. Their and others’ actions gave the police time to surround Khan and fatally shoot him.
#4: Jon Meis
In 2014, Aaron Ybarra arrived at Seattle Pacific University with a plan to take as many lives as possible. He walked inside a building and opened fire, taking one life and injuring two. But as Ybarra reloaded, Meis reacted. Volunteering as a building monitor while being a student, he pepper-sprayed Ybarra and jumped on him to take his firearm away. This sparked others nearby to help and disarm the killer until the police arrived to arrest him. If Meis hadn’t acted, many more lives would’ve been lost. To show appreciation for his heroics, people raised money for Meis for his wedding, and he was later awarded by the Carnegie Heroes Fund Commission. In 2017, Ybarra was sentenced to 112 years in prison.
#3: Thomas James, Richard Fierro, & Drea Norman
In 2022, Anderson Lee Aldrich, armed with weapons and far-right beliefs, entered the LGBTQIA+ bar, Club Q, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He quickly opened fire, taking five lives and injuring many. James, a Navy officer, rushed and fought Aldrich. However, he was severely shot, yet he kept fighting. Fierro, an Army veteran, joined the fight, helping to disarm the killer and get him to the ground. Norman, a transgender woman, was also involved as she stamped on Aldrich’s head to keep him subdued. Their work saved countless lives and got Aldrich arrested. In 2024, after pleading guilty and refusing to apologize to victims and their families, Aldrich was sentenced to 55 life terms.
#2: Gisèle Pelicot
From 2011 to 2020, Gisèle was frightened. Several health issues had arisen, making her believe she had a serious illness. Unbeknownst to her, her husband, Dominique, had been sedating Gisèle and assaulting her, causing her symptoms. He’d also invited other men to do the same at several locations in France. In 2020, after Dominique was arrested for upskirting a woman, the horrible truth was discovered as he had photos and videos of the assaults. Gisèle did the incredible by forgoing privacy and making the crimes against her public to raise awareness. In 2024, Dominique was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years. Another 50 men were also convicted, earning sentences from suspended ones to 15 years in jail.
#1: The White Rose
In 1942, five students and one professor at Germany’s University of Munich formed a movement that’d become a thorn in the side of Adolf Hitler’s reign, the White Rose. Led by Willi Graf, Kurt Huber, Christoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell, Hans Scholl, and Sophie Scholl, the non-violent movement created leaflets against the government and secretly dispersed them around. In 1943, the Scholl siblings, who’d previously been in the Hitler Youth wing, released leaflets in the university. However, they were spotted by janitor Jakob Schmid, who told the authorities. This led to them arresting many of the people involved in the White Rose, resulting in executions, including all of the leaders, and prison sentences. After World War II, Schmid was sentenced to five years of hard labor.
Which other normal people that stood up against evil did we miss in our video? Let us know below.
