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Jack Wilson, who brought down church shooter, will be honored by Texas governor

AUSTIN, Texas — Jack Wilson, the reserve deputy who stopped a gunman in a deadly shooting last month during a church service, will be honored Monday by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Wilson will receive the Governor’s Medal of Courage, Abbott wrote on Twitter.

“It is the highest award given to civilians by the governor,” Abbott wrote.

The Governor’s Medal of Courage is awarded to civilians who display great acts of heroism, risking their own safety to save the lives of others, KBTX reported.

Wilson served as a reserve deputy sheriff in Hood County from 1980 to 1986. He currently is a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement instructor and also is a license to carry instructor.

Wilson, a deacon of the security team at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, returned fire Dec. 29 when a man began shooting in the church. His shot brought down Keith Thomas Kinnunen, of River Oaks. Kinnunen died of his wounds.

More than 240 parishioners were in the church at the time of the shooting, KBTX reported.

“You train, but you hope you never have to go to that extreme,” Wilson told reporters Dec. 30. “But if you do, your training will kick in, and that was evident yesterday."