- 3 months ago
In the darkest moments, heroes emerge from unexpected places... Join us as we honor ordinary people who performed extraordinary acts of courage! Our countdown celebrates brave individuals who confronted evil head-on, from teens who rescued a kidnapped child to club-goers who stopped an active shooter with nothing but raw courage.
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00:00Then we heard some more noises.
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:04And today, we're counting down our picks for the most incredible times.
00:08Normal, everyday people became heroes as they risked themselves to fight against terrible evil, saving lives in the process.
00:15I want to express my deepest gratitude to all the people who have supported me throughout this ordeal.
00:23Number 10. Tamar Boggs and Chris Garcia.
00:26In 2013, Jocelyn Rojas was playing at her home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when she suddenly vanished.
00:33It's something you don't wish on anybody, and horrible, horrible thoughts flashed through my mind.
00:39The community and the police quickly began searching for her, including teenagers Boggs and Garcia.
00:44The duo then spotted Rojas in a car driven by an unknown adult.
00:48While on their bikes, Boggs and Garcia chased after them.
00:52If he wasn't going to stop, I was probably going to, like, jump on the car.
00:56Around 15 minutes later, seeing no option, the driver pulled over and let Rojas out before speeding away as Boggs and Garcia looked after her and reunited the child with her family.
01:06The culprit?
01:0773-year-old Harold Hurd, who has a history of similar incidents, later pleaded guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to 50 to 100 years in jail.
01:17He's our hero. I mean, there's no words to say. I'm so grateful.
01:24Number 9. Jonathan Smith.
01:27In 2017, Steven Paddock opened fire on the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas.
01:34He took 60 lives and injured hundreds.
01:37It was very scary at the time, and then I got my wife up. As I got her up, two guys came running by that were carrying a girl or somebody that was all bloody, and it looked like they had been shot.
01:49However, if it wasn't for Smith, those figures would have been higher, as he began directing people to safety.
01:56However, when Smith went to aid a group of children, he was struck by a bullet in the neck.
02:01Thankfully, off-duty police officer Tom McGrath got to him to help control the bleeding and save Smith's life.
02:07At that point, I started to just fade out, and they kept, basically, he put his knuckle in the middle of my sternum and said,
02:15Wake up, wake up. Stay with me.
02:17It's believed Smith saved around 30 people.
02:20Another hero of the tragedy was Marine veteran Taylor Winston.
02:24After stealing a nearby truck, he collected over two dozen injured victims and drove them to the hospital before ambulances arrived at the scene.
02:32There was just too many in it.
02:33Number 8. Lisa McVeigh
02:35In 1984, as a teenager, McVeigh was cycling home after work in Tampa, Florida, when she was pushed into a car.
02:43One bad situation got me to another bad situation.
02:45From there, she was taken to a property, all while experiencing assaults from the abductor.
02:50Yet, despite the trauma, McVeigh memorized details of the vehicle and the residence, leaving as much physical evidence as she could.
02:58On top of that, she pretended to make a connection with the criminal.
03:01She stated they could date and talk about personal issues.
03:04So I had to take all the abuse I had incurred when I was a child and just reach down one more time in the pit of my stomach and tap on those survivor skills.
03:18This led to her release.
03:20Soon, McVeigh spoke to the police, who followed her insights and evidence to Bobby Joe Long, a serial killer who'd taken 10 lives.
03:28He was executed in 2019, with McVeigh watching, who became a police officer after her experience with him.
03:35It's healing. Peace. You know, it just overwhelmed me.
03:40Number 7. Brandon Saye
03:42In 2023, Hugh Kantran walked into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, a place he'd frequented decades before, and opened fire.
03:54I heard the sound like a bullet.
03:57He took 11 lives and injured nearly as many.
04:00Next, Tran went to nearby Alhambra and ventured into the Lele Ballroom and studio.
04:05He then came face-to-face with Saye, whose family owned the venue, believing this would be his last action.
04:12Saye lunged at Tran and disarmed him.
04:14Tran then ran away, later taking his own life.
04:18Saye went on to help his community heal from the tragedy.
04:20I want everyone to focus on the victims.
04:23Due to his incredible actions in saving untold lives, then-President Joe Biden recognized Saye's heroics at the State of the Union address after he was invited as Jill Biden's guest.
04:33He saved lives. It's time we do the same.
04:38Number 6. Everyone helping stop the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack.
04:43In 2007, with a vehicle containing flammable and explosive material, extremists Bilal Abdullah and Kafil Ahmed drove into the entrance of Glasgow Airport.
04:54I didn't think it was in a dangerous situation. Ignorance is boss.
04:59When it didn't detonate, the duo tried other attack methods.
05:03Several bystanders made Scotland incredibly proud that day.
05:08Michael Kerr lost multiple teeth and suffered a broken leg after fighting one of them.
05:12Alex McKeven punted one of the attackers in the crotch so hard that he tore a tendon in his foot.
05:18Stephen Clarkson helped subdue another.
05:20There was no way he was carrying on. I was going to take him down, and that's what I done.
05:24Henry Lambie helped put out fires and helped with the arrest.
05:27Off-duty officer Stuart Ferguson also helped extinguish fires.
05:31Michael McDonald got people to safety and helped subdue an attacker.
05:35Finally, John Smeaton pulled Kerr to safety.
05:38It's your civic duty.
05:40Amazingly, there was only one fatality. Ahmed.
05:43Number 5. Everyone stopping Usman Khan.
05:46In 2019, convicted extremist Khan was out on parole and was attending an officer rehabilitation conference in London, England.
05:55Suddenly, he threatened to use a fake explosive vest strapped to him as he began stabbing people, taking two lives and injuring three.
06:03Neighbors stunned by the news.
06:05It's shocking to know that he was really quite close to you.
06:08However, if it weren't for the actions of several heroes, that counts would have been higher.
06:13Lukas Kozosik used an ornamental spear to deter Khan, while Darren Frost used a narwhal tusk.
06:19And I just offered up the tusk.
06:21Prisoners on day release to attend a program, John Crilly and Stephen Gallant, the latter of whom was convicted of murder, also fought Khan.
06:30Crilly famously used a fire extinguisher in the battle.
06:33Their and others' actions gave the police time to surround Khan and fatally shoot him.
06:38This is an attack on our community in many ways, and it was intended as such.
06:42Number 4.
06:44John Mize
06:45In 2014, Aaron Ybarra arrived at Seattle Pacific University with a plan to take as many lives as possible.
06:52He walked inside a building and opened fire, taking one life and injuring two.
06:58We just went to the corner and hid because we didn't know where it was.
07:01But as Ybarra reloaded, Mize reacted.
07:04Volunteering as a building monitor while being a student, he pepper-sprayed Ybarra and jumped on him to take his firearm away.
07:11This sparked others nearby to help him disarm the killer until the police arrived to arrest him.
07:16I called 911 and then heard another shot inside the building and looked down from my office and saw one of my students sitting on top of somebody in a big pile of shell casings.
07:29If Mize hadn't acted, many more lives would have been lost.
07:33I owe him a beer.
07:34A lot more people would be not here if he hadn't done that.
07:37To show appreciation for his heroics, people raised money for Mize for his wedding, and he was later awarded by the Carnegie Heroes Fund Commission.
07:45In 2017, Ybarra was sentenced to 112 years in jail.
07:51Number 3.
07:52Thomas James, Richard Fierro, and Dre Norman
07:55In 2022, Anderson Lee Aldrich, armed with weapons and far-right beliefs, entered the LGBTQIA plus bar Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
08:06He quickly opened fire, taking five lives and injuring many more.
08:11Something in my head said, get down.
08:13You know, just get down.
08:14James, a Navy officer, rushed and fought Aldrich.
08:17However, he was severely shot, yet he kept fighting.
08:21Fierro, an Army veteran, joined the fight, helping to disarm the killer and get him to the ground.
08:26What I think is important is that lawmakers' legislation, just Americans, they need to come together and figure out what it is we want to do to protect ourselves.
08:34Norman, a transgender woman, was also involved as she stamped on Aldrich's head to keep him subdued.
08:40Their work saved countless lives and got Aldrich arrested.
08:44In 2024, after pleading guilty and refusing to apologize to victims and their families, Aldrich was sentenced to 55 life terms.
08:54I hope that this person can find clarity, peace, and a sense of their own life, unfortunately, will be behind bars.
09:01Number 2.
09:03Giselle Pellicott
09:04From 2011 to 2020, Giselle was frightened.
09:09Several health issues had arisen, making her believe she had a serious illness.
09:12It is with deep emotion that I speak to you today.
09:16Unbeknownst to her, her husband Dominique had been sedating Giselle and assaulting her, causing her symptoms.
09:22He'd also invited other men to do the same at several locations in France.
09:26In 2020, after Dominique was arrested for upskirting a woman, the horrible truth was discovered as he had photos and videos of the assaults.
09:3520,000 photos and videos of him and more than 70 other men.
09:40Giselle did the incredible by foregoing privacy and making the crimes against her public to raise awareness.
09:47In 2024, Dominique was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years.
09:52Another 50 men were also convicted, earning sentences from suspended ones to 15 years in jail.
09:58I have never regretted this decision.
10:02I have confidence now in our capacity, collectively, to find a better future, in which men and women alike can live harmoniously together.
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10:27Number 1.
10:28The White Rose.
10:30In 1942, five students and one professor at Germany's University of Munich formed a movement that became a thorn in the side of Adolf Hitler's reign, the White Rose.
10:39So they started to put their feelings into writing, which of course was a really dangerous thing to do.
10:45Led by Willy Graff, Kurt Huber, Christopher Probst, Alexander Schmorell, Hans Scholl, and Sophie Scholl,
10:52the non-violent movement created leaflets against the government and secretly dispersed them around.
10:57In 1943, the Scholl siblings, who'd previously been in the Hitler Youth Wing, released leaflets in the university.
11:04For both siblings, it was time to escalate the fury that had been brewing for years.
11:09However, they were spotted by janitor Jacob Schmid, who told the authorities.
11:14This led to them arresting many of the people involved in the White Rose, resulting in executions, including all of the leaders and prison sentences.
11:23After World War II, Schmid was sentenced to five years of hard labor.
11:28I think the other thing that we can take away from the White Rose is the sense that there is strength in numbers,
11:33that when individuals who have conviction come together, that they have greater strength.
11:38Which other normal people that stood up against evil did we miss in our video?
11:43Let us know below.
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