Darren Weeks
Coalition to Govern America
December 8, 2018
Everything seemed to be going well for Tamarkus Cook, the 31-year-old pastor of the St. Smyrna Baptist Church in Newnan, Georgia. It was going so well, in fact, that the church had been planning for future expansion by purchasing an additional property next door to the church to be used for parking. Some time after that purchase, is when the trouble started.
There was a house occupying the newly-purchased land which had been subjected to gang vandalism, theft, break-ins and trespassing.
“We boarded up the windows, but they took them back down,” Pastor Cook told a local paper. “They’ve broken windows and spray-painted the interior with gang signs.”
One day Cook was driving past the house and noticed a gray Ford F-150 pickup truck there. Naturally, he decided to investigate. When he got out, he was confronted by a large man, over six feet tall, weighing 250 to 300 pounds, who asked him, "Who do you think you are? Security?" When Cook responded in the affirmative, the man became angry and charged at him, grabbing the lapels on his jacket and head butting him, in the eye, knocking him to the ground.
Cook thought the man was trying to kill him. While still laying on the ground, he noticed the man was coming back toward him again. It was then that he took out his Taurus .380 handgun and proceeded to fire off several shots into the air. The assailant quickly became convinced that further interaction with the good pastor would not be fruitful for his general well-being. The brute immediately ran to his truck and drove away.
After filing a police report, Pastor Cook was taken to the hospital for treatment. He suffered several facial fractures, an eye abrasion, and a broken nose, but he is alive. Thanks to his quick actions, the Second Amendment, and laws that recognize his ability to carry his .380 with him, he is looking forward to preaching next Sunday, doing his best to reach lost souls like the monster who attacked him.
