Jarell Brooks

abcnews.com

All people have someone or something that they consider to be a hero. A hero can be anyone, put in the right situation with the right character. Somebody could perhaps be a hero without knowing, if they help someone in need. Heroes are important. Acts of bravery, selflessness, and courage are essential in certain situations, and can ultimately save lives. Jarell Brooks is a hero for exactly those reasons: he was brave, selfless, and courageous.

Jarell Brooks, at age 19 on July 20, 2012, helped a mother and her two young children escape from a mass shooting. The mother, Patricia Largetta, was attending the movie "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado with her now-fiance, Jamie Rhors, and two young children, when James Holmes entered the theater and opened fire on the attendees. Rhors fled, laying his 4 month old son on the floor, to prevent him from being hit."It just felt like the worst thing ever because my son's still in there," he told ABC News. "My girlfriend is still in there. I'm out here. Who leaves their child there?" Ms. Largetta grabbed her child. "At the end of the aisle, I ran into a woman," said Jarell Brooks, who was also attempting to escape the theater. "She yelled, 'My kids!' and I saw she had two young kids with her I made sure they got in the aisle and pushed behind her to make sure she got out of there." Brooks was then shot in the thigh, as he was shielding the children, and Ms. Largetta was also hit. The bullet that Brooks took could have potentially hit one of the children if he hadn't been present. Besides the minor shots, Brooks, Ms. Largetta, and her two children all made it out of the theater alright. However, 70 people were injured in the shooting, and 12 were killed.

Mr. Brooks does not agree with the title of "hero". "I don't want to say hero necessarily, I was just in the wrong place at the right time. I was in the wrong place because I had to deal with the situation, but I was there at the right time because I was there to help a family." Jarell Brooks is a hero. A lesser man would have saved himself and fled. "It makes me feel happy to know that in times of trial, there are good people out there," said Ms. Patricia Largetta, referring to Brooks. Without him, who knows what would have happened. "I saw someone in distress," Mr. Brooks aid. "I'm not the kind of person who would let them be in that situation and me selfishly trying to get myself out of the equation. all she's trying to do is protect her kids, so I felt like if I could get her out, then maybe, I would have gotten out maybe I wouldn't, as long as I knew she was okay I was alright." Selflessness, and courage are abundant in this man. This is why heroism is so important.

Everyone has a hero. Jarell Brooks was the hero of Ms. Largetta and her two young children, and could have died without his assistance. Brooks himself could have died in the attempt to help them. Compassion and bravery are so important in the world, and helping people is unbelievably vital. Humans need each other, and the fact that Mr. Brooks, a teenager, risked his own life to save others' is a beautiful thing. The world should be full of such acts. We are all put in undesirable situations, and need a hero. Though sometimes, it is our time to have courage and be the hero.