5 Christians who died trying to save the lives of others
Pastor's son dies trying to save people from Virginia Beach mass shooting
The son of a Virginia Beach pastor was gunned down in the 2019 shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building while trying to save the lives of his colleagues.
Ryan Keith Cox, whose father is a preacher at the New Hope Baptist Church, was one of 12 victims.
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The shooter, DeWayne Craddock, was a former soldier and an engineer who worked for the City of Virginia Beach for about 15 years. Before the shooting, Craddock informed his superiors that he would be resigning from his job.
"If it wasn't for [Cox], there would have been several more people that had perished," city employee Christi Dewar told WAVY.
Dewar said she heard what she thought were popping sounds coming from ongoing construction work at the building. She began running for cover after she heard people yelling, "active shooter."
When she came across Cox, he told her to hide inside a colleague's office and barricade the door.
"'I said 'Come on Keith,' and he said 'I got to check on everybody else,'" Dewar said, and that was the last time that she saw him.
"He was a hero," she said. "A guardian angel that walked this earth that didn't deserve to leave us so soon."
Bishop Ezekiel Williams of Faith World Ministries in Norfolk told The Virginian-Pilot at the time about his relationship with Cox and his father.
"They were close, very, very loving family," Williams said. "This family has been just leaders in the Church world and our hearts go out to them during this time of loss, as well as all of the victims that were affected from this tragedy yesterday. Rev. Cox and his wife and his sons are good individuals."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follower her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
