Soldier recognized as hero during El Paso shooting arrested for desertion

The US Army Soldier who was lauded for his actions at the Walmart shooting incident in Texas was arrested on Wednesday for desertion.

22-year-old PFC Glendon Oakley, who rounded up as many kids as he could during the incident, was arrested on a military desertion warrant out of Fort Bliss.

According to WFAA, a warrant was issued for him after he did not show up at his post, and military officials have been dispatched to retrieve him.

A former Georgia resident, Oakley was praised by rappers Killer Mike and T.I., who flew the Soldier’s family members to Texas in the aftermath of the shooting.

“Oftentimes, those faces of people seen as heroes don’t look like us,” said Killer Mike. “There are not enough brown and black faces. This is the truest essence of what I know to be the black men in my life — quietly in the shadows. He’s a noble young man who has credited joining the military with helping change his life. I could tell he had a strong family foundation.”

His sister, Glenda Oakley Cook, told AJC that Oakley did not handle the attention well, and was “thrust into the spotlight.”

“I’m very proud of him,” said Cook, a military veteran and Realtor. “He said he did what he was trained to do. ‘Hero’ is the title that was given to him. He was thrust into the spotlight and he didn’t expect that. He doesn’t consider himself a hero. He said he just did what he would want someone to do for him or his kid in this situation.”

It is unknown why Oakley, who had recently returned from Kuwait at the time of the shooting, deserted from his post.

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