Samurai Sword-Wielding Mormon Bishop Saves Neighbor

Utah, meet your very own Mormon samurai superhero.

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When Kent Hendrix’s son told him that a neighbor was in trouble and needed help, the 47-year old Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bishop, did the only logical thing – he grabbed the 29-inch samurai sword he keeps next to his bed and stormed outside to help the woman in distress. Hendrix, who leads a congregation in the Salt Lake City suburb of East Millcreek, is also a martial arts enthusiast and instructor. “I threw on some clothes and grabbed my sword,” Hendrix told the Salt Lake Tribune adding, “You train for years, and years, and years, and all of a sudden you’re called to act — so you do.”

The neighbor was assaulted by a man who approached her as she left her home. He grabbed her house keys and attempted to enter her home. The woman screamed for help and ran, ABC 4 in Utah reported. “The victim did everything right,” Lieutenant Justin Hoyal, the local police spokesman, told the Tribune. “Screaming, hollering for help, ultimately alerting neighbors who came to her aid. These neighbors did a great job helping the victim.”

(MORETop 10 Movie Swordsmen)

That is perhaps an understatement. “He was kind of taken aback to have this sword drawn on him and he jumped back,” Hendrix told Reuters. “He said, ‘I’m leaving,’ and turned and ran, so I ran after him. I didn’t want him to get away anonymously.” The suspect did escape, but later turned himself in to the police, where he was revealed to be 37-year old Grant Eggleston, a disgruntled former co-worker of the victim. He was booked and jailed on suspicion of robbery, burglary, trespassing and stalking.

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