It was just a couple of weeks ago that Terrel Majette came to the defense of two kids who were being threatened by a mentally unstable neighbor armed with knives. Now Majette is sharing his story with Bearing Arms Cam & Co. 

I had the opportunity to chat with Majette on Monday evening as he enjoyed a break from the oppressive summer heat in southern Virginia. Sitting in his backyard garden, Majette recounted how he and his brother were relaxing on his front porch in Franklin, Virginia when they saw two kids sprinting down the street. A little boy scampered up to his own home and ran inside, but the little girl ended up on Majette's property, seeking shelter from what she described as a man with knives who was threatening them. 

"It took a minute for me to process that," Majette told me. "Like, did she really say what I think she did? My first response to her was 'go home, get in your house. I just want you to be safe. Let your parents know what's going on'."

When the girl told Majette that she lived next door to the man, and would have to pass him in order to get back home, he realized that he would have to protect the child. Before grabbing his gun, he took a look down the street and spotted a man with a knife in each hand, standing "like a zombie" and staring down the road. 

At that point, Majette ducked inside his home to retrieve his pistol, only to hear his brother yell from the front yard that the man was approaching. When Majette stepped outside, he saw the man standing just outside his property. 

Thankfully I didn't have to pull the trigger. I was able to just talk to him, and even though I was furious at the thought of him chasing this little girl with two knives, and of course the little boy, I was also furious because there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood and they play outside all the time. That same little girl had just come to my house about 30 minutes prior to this incident and asked if my sons, who are 9 and 8-years-old, could come outside to play. Because they were grounded for not doing their chores I told her 'they can't come out today.' And I'm just so thankful that my kids weren't out there because I don't know, honestly, if I could have responded as calmly as I did. 

Majette says he never pointed his gun at the man, but he was prepared to pull the trigger if the man set foot on his property or threatened anyone at his home. Thankfully, he was able to de-escalate the situation and convince the man to head back to his home. Shortly afterward, police arrived and took the man into custody for a mental health evaluation. 

According to Majette, the man is already back in the neighborhood, but there have been no further incidents since his return. Majette just hopes that there are others in the neighborhood who'll be keeping watch on the kids playing outside, and who'll be ready to act as he did if necessary. 

I don't feel like a hero because I just feel like I was doing what I would have done any other day, you know what I mean? And it almost hurts my feelings that the rest of the world isn't that way. It almost hurts my feelings that I can't trust my sons or my daughter to play outside without knowing if someone is going to step up and protect their lives.

Hopefully this isn't something that Majette or any of his neighbors have to deal with again, but I'd like to think that his actions that day will prompt those in the neighborhood to keep a close eye on the kids at play... and to respond to any threats with the same steadiness and calm that Majette displayed a couple of weeks ago. 

My thanks to Terrel Majette for joining me on today's Bearing Arms Cam & Co, and I hope to have him back again in the near future. In the meantime, be sure to check out our entire conversation in the video window below.