July 6, 2015<\/p>\n
To the Students and Members of Front Sight, <\/p>\n
As most of you may know on August 22, 2014, our son Gabriel Garcia and his partner came under gunfire from a group of subjects while working as police officers in the city of San Bernardino. During the prolonged gunbattle Gabriel was shot in the head. His partner, Marcus, a Front Sight member eliminated the threat posed by the group, thus providing Gabriel the hopeful, yet improbable chance at surviving his injuries.<\/p>\n
The next ten weeks was a very dark time in our lives as we watched our son survive multiple surgeries, then fight his way through the three to four medically induced comas and several life threatening medical complications to live. As weeks passed, Gabriel’s will to survive was always evident and we watched as the dozen or so medical devices attached to his body were each systematically removed.<\/p>\n
Gabriel’s physical recovery then started by his moving a thumb, his left hand, left leg and eventually he faintly spoke through his tracheotomy tube. In November 2014, Gabriel was transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Pomona where he attends physical, occupational and speech therapies full time. <\/p>\n
In January 2015, Gabriel came home to live with us and we travel each day to Pomona to continue his recovery. He has since learned to walk, talk, and his memory improves each day. These basic functions most of us take for granted, requires Gabriel’s total focus and concentration to perform, nothing has been easy or automatic.<\/p>\n
The bullet, bullets, or bullet fragments, settled in the left side of Gabriel’s brain resulting in full right side paralysis. This has been the greatest physical challenge of late, and he continues to work to regain function on his right side. We are fortunate in that a portion of the donations sent for Gabriel’s support, provides us the opportunity to evaluate outside and additional therapists and treatments to assist in Gabriel’s recovery. At his request, Gabriel recently started working with a private speech pathologist weekly to strengthen his communication skills. This additional treatment may not have been available without your gracious support. We will continue to look for innovative treatments and therapies to give our son the best chance to regain his independent life.<\/p>\n
It is hard to believe it has been ten months since that tragic night in August. Gabriel has come so far, yet he knows he has taken just the first few steps in what may be a lifetime journey of treatments, complications and continued recovery.<\/p>\n
We are humbled by your support which has enabled us to continue to focus on Gabriel’s treatment.<\/p>\n
Our continued thanks,<\/p>\n
Ron, Lydia, Gabriel and the Garcia Family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Here is the letter that one of your fellow Front Sight members sent to me, prompted me to share this story with you… <\/p>\n
Dr. Piazza,<\/p>\n
On August 22, 2014, the lives of two families were forever changed. <\/p>\n
Just eight weeks out of the Police Academy, my son Marcus was patrolling with his Field Training Officer, Gabe Garcia when they were ambushed. <\/p>\n
The way it happened was the two officers exited their vehicle, to speak with five individuals on the street. One of the individuals walked towards Gabe and once he got close to the officer, he pulled out a .38 and shot him point blank in the head. My son Marcus, the rookie officer, then took on gunfire while the gunman ran to his truck to get his AK-47. <\/p>\n
While trying to avoid getting shot, my son Marcus was also trying everything he could to get to his non responsive partner. <\/p>\n
My son Marcus was in a two minute gun battle, eventually killing the gunman.<\/p>\n
He does not remember reloading. He just remembers having 4 bullets left, and thinking that this was it. <\/p>\n
My family are all members of Front Sight. They have been members for several years. All of my boys have been trained by their dad at our local gun range and also Front Sight. They participate in three gun shoots, action pistol and C.M.P. <\/p>\n
My son Marcus was the Top Shot of his graduating class at the police academy. Although he received great training through his academy, I truly believe that the reason he was able to survive this hardship is because of the training he received at Front Sight. <\/p>\n
During the shooting, my son felt like he had been hit many times, but he was unscathed by the 50 rounds that were being aimed at him and he eventually shot down the gunman.<\/p>\n
As a mother, I still can’t help to think about all of the what ifs? What if my son hadn’t felt comfortable with a gun? What if he hadn’t had so much experience shooting and training? What if he had run out of ammo? What if he had not been able to win? It’s terrible to think about how my son had to fight a war in his own backyard- to save himself and his Field Training Officer. <\/p>\n
Although what happened to Gabe was tragic, the Garcia family could have been facing a very different tragedy if Marcus had not won the gunfight to keep both himself and Gabe alive. I want to do anything in my power to help Gabe and his amazing family. I have been raising money for Gabe through “Go Fund Me” and have been working on other fundraisers as well. I want to do more than just raise money for this family. I want to do something great for both of these heroes. I would love if the San Bernardino City Police Department could train with your facility. It is of the utmost importance that these cops are completely comfortable and accurate when using their firearms. I want these heroes to have all of the training they need to be successful. Their lives, and the lives of other innocent people depend on their firearm skills. <\/p>\n
My son visits Gabe weekly to check in on him and see the progress he is making. He is reminded every time he sees his FTO about how dangerous his occupation is and what he risks by being a police officer. My hope is for my son and Gabe to know that they are not alone in this battle. That they can heal and be helped through people’s support, prayers and donations. <\/p>\n
![\"front-sight-student-shooting\"](\"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/front-sight-student-shooting1-515x340.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Here is a photo of my son Marcus and his Field Training Officer Gabe Garcia This is a picture of Marcus and Gabe, first time seeing each other since Gabe was released from the rehabilitation center. I initiated the Home Depot, Wounded Warrior project to give Gabe’s home a makeover so that it would be accommodating for his needs once he’s living on his own. There was a whole team of amazing supporters who helped make his home beautiful. <\/p>\n
I’m hoping that after hearing this story about one of your Front Sight members, that you would be willing to make a donation to these worthy heroes.<\/p>\n
Here is the link for GOFUNDME if you would like to donate that way. http:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/e6ddtw<\/a><\/p>\n Thank you for your time and consideration,<\/p>\n Becca Pesquera<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thank you Becca. Give my congratulations to your son Marcus for a job well done and my best wishes to Gabe for a speedy and complete recovery.<\/p>\n I have just donated $183 to bring the total of donations you have raised for Gabe to $10,000. <\/p>\n I will also be happy to provide a Front Sight Four Day Defensive Handgun Course certificate for every officer in the San Bernardino City Police Department. Just have the Chief contact me with the number of officers he has working for him and I will Fed Ex the certificates. <\/p>\n I am sending this e-mail to all my Front Sight students and members, asking them to follow in my footsteps and provide a donation as well to Gabe’s recovery and rehabilitation at http:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/e6ddtw<\/a><\/p>\n Thank you again for letting me know about your son’s courage under fire. <\/p>\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n Dr. Ignatius Piazza UPDATE 7\/7\/2015: I just received a letter from the Garcia family, thanking you for your support of their son Gabe who was ambushed by a street gang, and saved by one of our own, Front Sight students. The thank you letter is attached below and the reason why they are thanking you is due to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,1,41,15,5,8,14],"tags":[1784,3341,25,2872,2219,3045,2157,2628,1335,2424,1369,1428,4235,1949,1535,36,1320,1352,204,1341,1683,226,2410,1112,522,2716,3466,4673,85,62,4769,3190,579,26,19,2054,3145,4705,9,542,271,30,37,1674,2631,187,229,994,104,3242,24,739,1544,107,1670,700,3694,10,44,987,1397,218,2413,415,3451,262,2605,2764,4522,416,2256,3861,4327,730,2969,4416,4049,4050,1037,232,2524,783,4180,851,972,4252,2878,3681,1814,1471,2935,4393,1812,1511,2652,31,2365,1301,269,2473,75,4774,2713,4768,4165,3780,339,69,4775,47,1386,1856],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7976"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7981,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976\/revisions\/7981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ignatius-piazza-front-sight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFounder and Director
\nFront Sight<\/a> Firearms Training Institute
\n7975 Cameron Drive, #900
\nWindsor, CA 95492
\nhttp:\/\/www.frontsight.com<\/a>
\ninfo@frontsight.com<\/a>
\n1.800.987.7719<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"