'Gentle Giant' Mourned After Museum Shooting

Colleagues at the National Holocaust Museum remember slain security guard Stephen Johns as unfailingly courteous and friendly, the Washington Post reports. The 39-year-old guard was killed in the line of duty yesterday when a gunman walked into the museum and opened fire. "There are no words to express our grief and shock over these events," said a statement from the museum.

Authorities say Johns and his fellow guards behaved courageously when white supremacist James Von Brunn began shooting. "Never take your guard force or your security people for granted," said the museum's chief of staff. "They did exactly what they were supposed to do." Flags have been lowered to half-mast at the museum, which will be closed today in Johns' honor.
(More Stephen Johns stories.)