Coach Died Shielding Students From Bullets

From Redbook

One of the 17 victims in Wednesday's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida was a coach who heroically shielded students from bullets. Aaron Feis, an assistant football coach and security guard at the school, was himself an alumnus of the school. Feis coached linemen on the football team, coached the school's junior varsity football team, coordinated college recruiting, and helped with operations.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Feis, 37, responded to the call on the school's security radio walkie-talkies. Someone on the line asked if the sound they were hearing was firecrackers. "I heard Aaron say, 'No, that is not firecrackers.' That's the last I heard of him," football coach William May, who also had a walkie-talkie, told the newspaper. He said he heard from a student that Feis jumped between that student and the shooter, and pushed her through a door to get her out of the line of fire.

"It is with great sadness that our football family has learned about the death of Aaron Feis," the team wrote on its official Twitter account. "He was our assistant football coach and security guard. He selflessly shielded students from the shooter when he was shot. He died a hero and he will forever be in our hearts and memories."

Feis, who lived in Coral Springs, Florida, leaves behind a wife, Melissa, and a daughter. Students and colleagues are remembering Feis as a selfless man who always put his students before anything else. "He died the same way he lived - he put himself second," school spokesperson Denise Lehtio told CNN. "He was a very kind soul, a very nice man."

"God takes good people, but that's the one's he needs," May told the Miami Herald. "He got a good one in Feis."