Call of Duty

Alumnus saves a woman’s life

An innocent trip to the sporting goods section at Wal-Mart in Del Rio, Texas, quickly turned into a heroic, life-saving event.

This past spring, former Liberty student body president and Air National Guard pilot Joshua Nelson, his wife Brittany and their son strolled through the Del Rio Wal-Mart toward the sporting goods section in search of fishing hooks. Suddenly, Joshua Nelson heard a lady speaking urgently a few aisles away.

“Don’t. Stop. Put it down,” the woman said.

The feminine voice speaking these words alerted both Joshua Nelson and his wife to address the situation.

The pair peered around the corner of an aisle where they found a young man, approximately 18 or 19 years old, and a woman, who appeared to be the man’s mother. The man had a knife to the woman’s midsection.

Joshua Nelson sprang into action, sending his wife with their son to the front of the store to notify police and Wal-Mart officials. Joshua Nelson stepped into the aisle and ran toward the two in the struggle. Joshua Nelson encouraged the young man to put the knife down, but the stubborn man kept the knife poised against the woman.

Joshua Nelson’s frame remained calm and still as he waited for the man to release control of the woman. Regardless, Joshua Nelson’s instant reaction to the turmoil gave the man time to rethink his decision.

“If I would have walked by and that guy would have killed that lady, I would have felt just as guilty as the guy who would have killed her,” Joshua Nelson said.

Eventually, the teenager moved the knife away from the woman, but the teen’s next decision was to turn the knife on himself.

As Wal-Mart employees arrived next to Joshua Nelson, the man obeyed Joshua Nelson’s command to place the knife on the ground and kick it to him.

Police arrived on the scene shortly after the incident, and Joshua Nelson followed the officers back to the station in order to help file a report.

A Wal-Mart trip in search of fishing hooks turned into a heroic act of an Air National Guard pilot proud to serve his country.

“I live a life of service, and it’s really been an honor to do that, and I think it’s who God made me,” Joshua Nelson said.

Tiller is a feature reporter.