She was 65 vears old and sitting at her desk inside a quiet newsroom when gunfire shattered the afternoon. Most people would have run or hidden. Wendi Winters dic something almost no one would do. Wendi Winters was a reporter at the Capita Gazette in Annapolis, Marvland. On June 28 2018, emplovees were working inside the newspaper's first floor office when a man arrived outside the building carrying a pump action shotqun. He fired through the locked glass entrance door and entered the newsroom. Panic spread instantly Emplovees dove under desks or rushec toward hiding places in the back of the office. Some could not escape because the rear exit had alreadv been blocked. As the attacker moved deeper into the newsroom Wendi Winters did something extraordinary Instead of hiding, she grabbed a trash can and a recycling bin from beside her desk and ran directly toward the attacker Witnesses said she shouted for him to stopas she charged forward. It was a desperate attempt to disrupt the attack and give her coworkers a chance to escape. The attacker fired and struck her in the chest. Winters collapsed, but her courageous action created a moment of chaos that allowed several coworkers to reach safetv or hide When police arrived, the attacker was found hiding beneath a desk inside the building. Wendi Winters d*ed at the scene. She was later honored with the Carnegie Medal for heroism, recognizing the extraordinary courage she showed while trying to protect others. In a moment of terror inside a newsroom, a veteran iournalist chose to confront danger so others might live Story based on historical records. This post is for educational purposes