Nevada church cares for National Guard member wounded in IHOP shooting
A Nevada National Guard member wounded in last week’s shooting rampage at an IHOP restaurant regularly attends the Foothills Church of Christ in Reno, Nev.
Gary Cage, minister of the 125-member congregation, said Sgt. Caitlin Kelley is friends with church members and has been studying the Bible with them.
“She’s very interested in the Gospel,” Cage said of Kelley, who was shot in the foot during the IHOP attack.
In the wake of the shooting, the minister said, “The main thing we’re doing is serving her and seeing about her needs and spending a lot of time with her. It’s very traumatic.”
Kelley’s response to the shooting has been described as heroic, but she demurs when that word is used, Cage said.
The Reno Gazette-Journal cited Kelley’s actions in a story about a memorial service for slain guardsmen:
Sgt. Caitlin Kelley of Reno, shot in the foot Tuesday, sat in a wheelchair in the front row with her foot propped up and in a cast, and Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Mock, who had been shot in his right arm, had his arm in a sling propped up on two pillows.
Despite being wounded when Sencion entered the IHOP and opened fire, both Kelley and Mock applied first aid to people on the floor near them who were wounded and saved several people’s lives, said Brigadier Gen. Frank Gonzales.
“If it wasn’t for their quick action, they wouldn’t have been here and others wouldn’t have been here,” Gonzales said.