Buzz
The story of the Good Samaritan is one many are familiar with: a traveler, attacked by robbers and left on the verge of death, is ignored by his fellow countrymen and a priest, both too absorbed in their own concerns to intervene. Only a Samaritan, an individual with no obligation to help his enemy, stopped and offered aid. This Samaritan not only risked his life to ensure the traveler’s safety but even paid for his recovery. Jesus then urged those around him to 'Go and do likewise.' This isn’t a sermon, just a list of 10 individuals who followed that call.
10. Bao Xishuan
We’ll ease into this list, as it gets intense fast. Bao Xishuan, the man recognized by Guinness as the tallest living person (standing at 7 feet 8.95 inches tall with a wingspan of 1.06 meters), didn’t just make headlines for his size. In 2006, he was called upon by Chinese veterinarians for a special mission at the Funshun aquarium. And no, it wasn’t for any basketball games.
The dolphins at the aquarium had swallowed plastic shards that the doctors had failed to remove, leaving the animals starving. No surgical instruments could retrieve the pieces. Bao rushed to the rescue, where workers used towels to pry open the dolphins’ jaws, preventing them from biting him. With a crowd of onlookers, Bao reached deep into their stomachs to remove as many shards as possible. The remaining fragments were safely digested, and the dolphins fully recovered. Bao received a few pats on the back and returned to his farmwork.
9. Victor Perez
On a stormy day, Victor Perez, a 29-year-old grape picker, was staying home when he heard a local radio announcement about a young girl who had been abducted. While in his yard, he saw a truck passing by that fit the description of the kidnapper’s vehicle. Worried, Perez jumped into his own car and chased after the truck, even though he couldn't see the girl at first. Once he spotted her, he screamed repeatedly at the driver, ‘That’s not your little girl!’ until the abductor tossed her out of the vehicle and sped off.
Perez stayed with the girl, reassuring her until the police arrived to reunite her with her mother. Later, the California Highway Patrol arrested Gregorio Gonzalez on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, and tragically, sexual assault.
8. Hasan Askari
One Friday night while riding the Q train into Brooklyn, Muslim Hassan Askari noticed a group of ten men bullying a couple for wishing ‘Happy Chanukah’ in response to a ‘Merry Christmas’ greeting. Concerned for the woman’s safety, Askari intervened by pushing one of the attackers away, which led to a brutal beating by the group. However, his actions gave the couple the opportunity to pull the emergency brake on the subway and call for help.
Askari suffered two black eyes and a sore nose as a result of his actions, but he never sought medical attention, as he worked two jobs and could not afford the doctor’s bills. Walter Adler, one of the victims who had sustained a broken nose and needed four stitches for a split lip, was stunned by the selfless act, remarking, ‘A random Muslim kid helped some Jewish kids, and that’s what’s positive about New York.’
7. Julien Duret
On April 7, 2010, Julien Duret was walking with his girlfriend along New York’s South Street Seaport when he saw something fall into the water. Initially thinking it was a doll, he soon realized it was a baby. Without hesitation, Duret stripped off his clothes and plunged into the freezing, polluted East River. He reached the child first and handed the lifeless infant to her father, who was then lifted to safety. Once on dry land, the young girl, Bridget Anderson, opened her eyes. Her father hailed Duret as ‘the first man in the water.’
After the rescue, spectators shed their own dry clothes and offered them to the chilled Duret. He humbly replied that he was ‘glad to help’ and went on his way. It wasn’t until later that he realized his heroic act had captured the hearts of New Yorkers, who were eager to find the elusive ‘Mystery Frenchman.’ When they eventually located him, the modest engineer finally agreed to an interview, admitting, ‘I’d never done anything like this before.’
6. Marc Patterson
Marc Patterson was camping with his wife and daughter when 12-year-old Colton Reeb was attacked by a wild cougar near Clinton, British Columbia. Upon hearing a ‘deathly scream,’ Patterson’s daughter alerted him, saying, ‘Dad, there’s a cougar on him.’ Rushing to the scene, Patterson saw the boy curled into a ball, his head already in the cougar’s mouth as he tried to protect himself.
Patterson kicked the cougar five times, but it had no effect. Then, he swiftly dropped to his knees, positioned himself on the animal’s back, and began choking it. After a tense five seconds, the cougar released its grip. Patterson grabbed the boy and cautiously backed toward his truck, all while the cougar, ears flattened and growling, stared at them from a distance. The boy was quickly rushed to Ashcroft hospital for surgery to treat injuries to his face, neck, and torso.
The Patterson family spent the night at a hotel in Clinton, and conservation officers later tracked down the cougar, killing it only 15 meters from the original attack site. Experts speculated that the cougar may have confused the small boy for prey, as the campsite was heavily wooded and populated by animals that cougars typically hunt.
5. Wesley Autrey
In 2007, 50-year-old construction worker Wesley Autrey was accompanying his two daughters to school on the subway. While waiting for the train, fellow passenger Cameron Hollopeter suffered a seizure and collapsed onto the tracks, landing between the rails. With the train approaching rapidly, Autrey leapt off the platform and shoved the young man as deep into the ground as possible. The train passed over both men, barely missing their heads.
Once the onlookers’ screams subsided, Autrey told them to ‘tell the girls their father is okay.’ The transit authority arrived shortly after, cutting the power and safely rescuing both men. Autrey refused medical treatment and simply took his children to school, remarking later that his only regret was that his hat had gotten dirty.
4. Horia Cretan
While at work, Horia Cretan heard a scream from a nearby building. Looking up, he saw smoke billowing from a window but couldn’t discern much else. Without thinking twice, he sprinted to the fire escape, pulled down the ladder, and began climbing. Reaching the window, he found a man sitting in shock. As he pushed him to safety, Cretan learned that there was someone else inside the apartment.
Cretan entered the burning apartment, struggling to see or breathe due to the smoke. Moments later, firefighters arrived and handed him a 4-year-old boy. Cretan wrapped the child in curtains and carefully carried him down the fire escape, pausing only to perform CPR. The child survived without any lasting injuries. Cretan later shared his heroic story on the talk show ‘Good Morning America,’ where he also proposed to his girlfriend — and she accepted.
3. Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax
On April 18, 2010, Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax, a Guatemalan immigrant, stepped in to help a woman being menaced by a man holding a knife. Despite struggling with the attacker, Tale-Yax was tragically stabbed and left to die on a street in Jamaica, Queens (NY). While he bled out, both the woman and the attacker ran off in separate directions. Parts of the violent incident and its aftermath were captured on video surveillance.
Footage revealed that one man took a photo of Tale-Yax with his cellphone. Eighteen others witnessed the scene or walked right past him without offering any assistance or contacting the authorities. The closest anyone came to helping was a man who shook the victim's body but then walked away after seeing the pool of blood. Firefighters arrived about fifteen minutes later, but it was already too late.
Authorities are still searching for the suspect, described as a 5’6” male with a medium build, wearing a green short-sleeve shirt and dark pants. Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to report it anonymously at 800.577-TIPS or here.
2. Lennie Scutnik
Martin “Lennie” Scutnik was a low-level manager at the US Congressional Budget Office in 1982. On January 13, as he was walking home through the ice and snow, he witnessed Air Florida Flight 90 crash into the frozen Potomac River. Most of the passengers were trapped inside the submerged plane, and the ice was quickly taking the few survivors.
A rescue helicopter attempted to lower a rope to the survivors repeatedly, but they were too weak to grab it. Without hesitation, Scutnik leapt into the freezing water and swam to a woman who was drowning, helping her to the riverbank and saving her life.
Less than a month later, President Ronald Reagan invited Scutnik to attend the 1982 State of the Union Address. Seated next to the First Lady, Scutnik received a standing ovation. The term ‘Scutniks’ is now used to describe ordinary heroes celebrated at nearly every State of the Union Address, a tradition that began that day.
1. Bennie Newton
While watching the Los Angeles race riots unfold on TV, Reverend Bennie Newton learned that truck driver Reginald Denny (pictured above) was being assaulted by a group of rioters on a nearby street corner. He immediately rushed to the scene, but by the time he arrived, Denny had already been taken away. However, the mob was still attacking another innocent bystander.
The mob had violently dragged construction worker Fidel Lopez out of his truck, stolen $2,000 from him, and savagely beat him, even smashing his forehead with a car stereo. They tried to cut off his ear and then stripped him, spray-painting his chest, torso, and genitals black. Witnessing the horrific act, Reverend Newton threw himself over Lopez’s body, holding up his Bible and shouting, 'Kill him and you have to kill me, too!'.
Ashamed and startled by his words, the mob eventually scattered, and Reverend Newton remained by Lopez's side, praying for him to regain consciousness. Unable to get an ambulance, Newton drove Lopez to the hospital himself, ensuring the man received the care he needed.
