Prayer and “Guardian Angel” Protect LDS Woman during Airport Shooting
Contributed By Jason Swensen, Church News staff writer
Annika Dean with her sons, Brandon, left, and Austin. Sister Dean survived a harrowing shooting spree in Florida.
Article Highlights
- LDS woman is protected by prayer and a selfless stranger during airport shooting.
“I saw that I could not access the exits without running right into the gunman’s path, so I ran behind a [cart], laid down on the ground, and began to pray.” —Annika Dean
Related Links
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
When a gunman began his deadly rampage through the baggage claim area of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Annika Dean, a lifelong Latter-day Saint and a returned missionary, drew upon her training to stay alive.
The elementary school art teacher had gone through two “active shooter” trainings. The instruction she gleaned in those courses—tragic necessities in the aftermath of school shootings—helped her keep a clear mind during the January 6 mayhem at the airport that left five people dead and six wounded.
But Sister Dean is quick to add that the school instruction was only one element of her training. From the time she was a little girl, she had been well trained in the protective power of prayer.
She knew God listens to His children.
The single mother had flown home from a vacation to Atlanta and was waiting for her bags when a lone gunman began firing indiscriminately.
“I saw that I could not access the exits without running right into the gunman’s path, so I ran behind a [cart], laid down on the ground, and began to pray,” she told the Church News.
Amid the horror of the moment, her thoughts turned to her two sons—Austin, 13, and Brandon, 11. “I didn’t want them to not have a mother.”
As the gunman approached Annika’s hiding spot, a stranger dropped to the ground and shielded her body with his own.
“I will protect you,” he whispered.
Annika said she knew in that instance that her prayer had been heard. She would survive the ordeal. “I saw [the gunman] walk right by us.”
It was over a few moments later. Airport police arrived, the shooting stopped, and the suspect, 26-year-old Esteban Santiago, was arrested.
Still shaken, Sister Dean sought out her “guardian angel”—Tony Bartosiewicz, a silver-haired electrician from Rochester, New York.
“I thanked him,” said a grateful Sister Dean. “When he shielded me I felt comforted.”
Mr. Bartosiewicz, 70, and his wife, Jennifer Cleeton, left for a cruise shortly after the shooting and could not be contacted by reporters. But his daughter, Jenny Miller, told the Sun Sentinel that such selflessness defines her father.
“That’s the kind of person he is,” she said. “He would do something like this without thinking.”
Sister Dean has shared her appreciation for Mr. Bartosiewicz and her testimony of prayer in interviews with several national news networks. The Orem, Utah, native and Brigham Young University graduate has found additional strength from subsequent priesthood blessings and support from fellow members.
“It’s been unbelievable how many people have helped,” said Sister Dean, who was anxious to return to her classroom and a normal daily routine.
