 The Bridge Church Pastor Heath Haynes has been called a hero for confronting a violent intruder who attacked elderly neighbors Earl Koehn and his wife Sharon Koehn.
On June 15, Houston Haynes jumped into action to intervene for his elderly neighbors after he heard a scream from the neighbor’s apartment.
He disclosed according to Fox News that his neighbor’s front door was shut but he however was able to peek in the window. He noted also that his 85-year-old neighbor who suffers from dementia was on the floor with a coat rack over his chest and a man rifling through his pocket.
“I’m banging on the door yelling at [the suspect], and he’s acting like he lives there, saying ‘I’ll be right there,’” Haynes said. “I’m yelling ‘I can see you.’ And at that point, he stops and goes to the back of the house.”
Haynes subsequently took the action of recording the suspect, identified as Shane Jennings following his move to the back house. He was seen in the video footage asking Jennings: “What do you think you’re doing, man? You’re beating that man up?”
He further told the suspect to drop a set of car keys and other items in his possession. “Hey, put it down! Put it down! Put it down!” he said grabbing Jennings.
Pastor Haynes noted however that “at this point … I know my wife called the police. I’m just trying to contain without escalating it any further. And I’m just kind of keeping him in the back area. We’re just kinda cat and mousing around the truck.”
The video also showed the suspect opening the truck door and forcefully escaping through the back door. He was also arrested the same day after a chase by the police.
Hayne credited God for his brave action in an interview. “As a Christ follower, or someone who’s experienced the redeeming love of Jesus, is that He showed me what love looks like,” Haynes said.
“Jesus did that for me,” he added. “He gave His life for me. And so I’ve been shown that kind of selfless, sacrificial love.”