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California Family Opens Home and Feeds Dozens Fleeing Mall Shooting
Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Malls fill with people looking to get the best deals of the season. This year, thousands went to Valley Fair Mall in San Jose, California, expecting to shop and have fun. No one expected gang-related violence to erupt. NBC Bay Area reported that a 17-year-old allegedly shot at a rival gang member in a mall filled with people. As they heard the gunfire, shoppers scattered. Some made it out to their cars, but others, on foot, just kept running. Dozens wound up across the street where the Garcia family lives. Doorbell camera footage captured the couple’s unparalleled kindness.
@abc7newsbayarea Doorbell camera video shows San Jose couple Martin and Irene Garcia opening the doors of their home to let over 50 fleeing shoppers in to hide inside after a gunman opened fire inside Valley Fair Mall on Black Friday. Martin and his wife quickly turned their home into a place of refuge for the next six hours — ordering pizza, praying together, and listening to Christmas music. The couple lives about a block away from the mall, where three shooting victims were left with non-life threatening injuries. Read the full story at our link below. #Goodsamaritan #BayArea #valleyfairmall #shooting #massshooting #rescue #fyp #news ♬ original sound – ABC7 News – ABC7 News
The Garcia Family Opened Their Home With No Questions Asked
Martin Garcia answered the door, where a girl stood begging to come inside. She told him about the shooting, and without hesitation, the Garcia family ushered her inside. Martin did the same thing for more than 30 people. Not only did he let them into his home, but they ordered pizza.
“Just for a second, I thought maybe it was a prank,” Martin Garcia told NBC Bay Area. “Or, maybe I was being pranked because they all ran to the back of the house. And I looked, and there were more people. And I realized there’s something bad going on. I got to let them in the house.”
Orieyonna Johnson told NBC Bay Area she felt so blessed to find Martin and his family.
“We landed in the street of our wonderful new friends, the angels, the Garcia family,” she said. “And that was a breathtaking moment — the love and the comfort that we felt when Mr. Garcia opened his arms like an angel.”
The moment touched many who thanked the Garcias for their kindness.
“The true meaning of ‘love thy neighbor.’ The Garcia family deserves all the love and blessings,” someone wrote.
“I hope everyone understands how big this was for them to do, because they had no way of knowing if the people coming by were telling the truth and they took the risk that someone was just lying to do them harm. I hate that you have to consider that l, but you do,” another person wrote.
The Garcia family inspired many.
“I pray this situation never occurs but I would open my door in a heartbeat as well. there is hope for humanity,” a TikToker shared.
What a blessing. We need far more Garcia Families in our world today.
This story’s featured image can be found here.