Good Samaritan gets killed while helping another

Photo from Go Fund Me

A man offers help to another, but in the process, gets shot by the latter and dies. Talk about injustice.

But that’s exactly what happened last Friday (22 January) in Catawba County, North Carolina, U.S.

When 26-year-old Jefferson Heavner saw a car stuck in the snow, he stopped his pick-up truck to help the stranded driver, Marvin Jacob Lee, 27. Upon realizing that Lee was drunk, Heavner, along with several other motorists who had stopped, decided to call the police and let them handle the situation.

But Lee apparently became belligerent, drew a gun and opened fire on the group. While the rest managed to escape, Heavner was hit. Lee then walked up to him and fired more shots into him. Heavner was pronounced dead at the scene.

It’s hard to feel anything but outrage—and rightly so, because everything about this case is wrong.

One, Lee shouldn’t have driven while he was drunk, but he did.

Two, Heavner didn’t need to stop to help, but he did. He was, in his sister’s words, “always willing to help out in situations like this”.

Three, Heavner should have been rewarded for his kindness, but he wasn’t. Instead, Heavner was killed—by the very person he was trying to help.

And if you think that’s bad enough, there’s more. Heavner is a single dad and leaves behind a 17-month-old son.

If you’re wondering how such a senseless crime can take place, here’s something to think about: It’s not the first time. Doesn’t Heavner’s death remind you of someone else? Someone who suffered the same fate because he wanted to help us while we were in a fix, and whom we pushed away, preferring to continue wallowing in our sorry state?

Our sins cost Him his life.

He died, to save us from our sins.

He died, so that we can break free from the power of sin.

Do we feel outrage over his death too?