On a quiet summer evening in Glenwood, Iowa, Senior Airman Harrison Friar found himself in a life-or-death situation just outside his home.

What began as a peaceful dinner with his family quickly turned into a confrontation with a gunman on a violent rampage through the neighborhood.

The shooter, identified by authorities as Dennis Burnell, lived across the street from Friar. Before their encounter, Burnell had already fatally shot two of their neighbors, Brandon and Stevie Oman.

When Friar heard the gunfire, instinct and training took over. He stepped outside, armed with his personal firearm, ready to protect those around him.

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“My first thought was definitely not my own safety, it was just concern for everybody else,” Friar recalled.

“And then once I realized that everybody else is in at least a semi-safe position, that I need to return fire and stop him from continuing to attempt to kill my wife and I and keep him from hurting my family.”

Friar, an airborne cryptologic language analyst assigned to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, was on parental leave at the time. His youngest daughter had been born only a week earlier.

The family had just sat down for dinner when they heard what sounded like fireworks. But as the pops continued, Friar knew it was something far more serious.

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He immediately told his father-in-law to move the children to safety and retrieved his personal firearm, a CZ P-07 9mm pistol. His wife peered out the window and shouted that Burnell was outside with a gun.

Image Credit: Air Force photo courtesy of Senior Airman Harrison Friar

What followed unfolded rapidly.

As Friar and his wife stepped into the driveway, they tried to stay behind cover. Burnell emerged from his screened porch about 30 yards away, armed with a Smith & Wesson pistol.

A security camera captured the moment when the two men locked eyes.

“We just looked at each other for probably less than a second before he started raising his firearm up at me,” Friar said. “I screamed, ‘Don’t,’ hoping that maybe it would de-escalate the situation. Maybe he would snap back to reality. But it didn’t do anything. He obviously intended to fire upon us.”

Burnell opened fire, sending about eight rounds in their direction.

“I think the first shot that he shot at me, I did hear it whizz by,” Friar said.

“It hit the brick just inches behind me, just inches to the left of where my shoulder was. That one was very close. The second shot that I can really see in the video actually hit the windshield of a car that we had back in the driveway. My wife was standing in that spot, maybe less than half a second before. But it got caught in our son’s car seat.”

Friar thought of his wife and children and knew he had to act. He checked to ensure no neighbors were in his line of fire and then returned fire, shooting twice.

“I did not use any sort of tactical training in the slightest,” he admitted.

“I fired one-handed across the street at him and managed to hit him both times somehow. So, I will admit that was not proper shooting form in any way, but it did work out for me somehow. I feel like the adrenaline did the opposite of making me nervous. It just calmed me down and locked me in at that moment.”

Friar struck Burnell in the leg and wrist. Burnell retreated into his home, only to reemerge and fire again toward Friar’s house.

One bullet came dangerously close to hitting Friar’s father-in-law, who was moving through the home. Moments later, police arrived.

Burnell retreated again and apparently set off an explosive device, causing his home to erupt in flames and setting off stored ammunition inside.

After the chaos subsided, Friar learned that the Omans had been killed. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation later said the incident stemmed from an interpersonal dispute between Burnell and the victims.

For Friar, the reality of what happened took time to process. The fact that his family survived, he said, was nothing short of a miracle.

“It can be something really small all the way up to a fight for your life,” he reflected.

“I think it’s also important to just hold all your loved ones close. Be prepared for anything to happen because these things can happen with no notice. We never expected anything like this. So, I think it’s good to always be alert, be aware, and be ready, especially in the event that something like this does happen.”

Friar’s quick response and composure likely saved lives that day.

His story is a powerful reminder that courage often comes not from seeking conflict but from the determination to protect others when danger strikes unexpectedly.

Because of his actions, an already tragic situation did not claim even more lives.

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