Macon Windsor Academy graduate died heroic death in San Bernardino attack
When the bullets started flying, Shannon Johnson and his co-worker hit the floor.
With his left arm around her, he whispered, "I got you," as they huddled behind a chair in the conference room.
That the former high school football star died protecting her was no surprise to those who loved him.
"He would put himself in the line of fire to help someone else," said his brother, Rob Johnson, of Gray.
The mass shooting Wednesday in San Bernardino, California, seemed half a world away until shock waves hit Middle Georgia with an epicenter at Windsor Academy in Macon.
The star athlete from the private school's Class of 1988 was one of the 14 people killed in the attack.
A relative of one of the survivors shared the story on Facebook.
"This angel of a man was sitting next to my sister when the shooting happened,"Stephanie Rose Baldwin posted Friday morning. "He helped protect her from the bullets and we are so grateful for his heroic love, that most likely saved her life."
Since getting word Thursday of his brother's death, Johnson and his wife, Beth, had been praying to gain some understanding of what happened.
"It's unreal, the love that's been poured out," he said.
His brother was a great storyteller who never met a stranger and talked with his co-workers daily.
He was friendly with everyone, including Syed Farook, who along with Farook's wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the deadly rampage.
Johnson was a deep thinker and loved to talk religion, his sister-in-law said.
One of Johnson's best friends from high school, Ken Smith Jr., was looking forward to visiting with him in May.
"He was a great, loving guy that would take his shirt off his back to help somebody," said Smith, now a teacher at Georgia College.
He thought of Johnson as soon as he heard about the attack at the Inland Regional Center.
Since San Bernardino County is the largest in the nation, he wasn't too worried at first.
When Smith learned an "environmental scientist" was among the victims, uneasiness took over.
"It just kind of snowballed," said Smith, whose fears were confirmed by a phone call.
Johnson's life-saving heroism was true to his character.
"I figured that," Smith said. "That's just him."
Smith and Johnson played football and baseball together for the Knights.
"When I was the quarterback, he was the running back. When I was the pitcher, he was the catcher," said Smith, who last visited with Johnson during a Christmas break a few years ago.
Josie Ballard Ezelle, a 1991 Windsor graduate, remembers Johnson from her days as a football manager.
"He was a tremendous athlete. All the girls loved to watch him run. He was so good looking and he had the cutest dimple in his chin," Ezelle said. "He was one of those people the younger kids looked up to. We were just in awe of him."
Amy Stokes, who was Johnson's secret cheerleader at Windsor, used to hide goodies in his locker.
"He was one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen in my life, and I was afraid to talk to him," Stokes said. "He was a gentle-giant kind of a guy who was built like a truck."
Other classmates remember the team's dramatic upset victory over First Presbyterian Day School in 1987.
Johnson had blown out both ankles, but continued to "run like Herschel Walker," Kevin Craig told Stokes in a private message.
The Telegraph reported in its coverage that Johnson "led the Knights with 76 yards on 19 carries in the win."
Rob Johnson has a game video from when the brothers played junior varsity for Jonesco Academy.
Shannon's shoulder popped out during a play, but he knocked it back in place and made the tackle, he said.
Their stepfather, Al Pollard, now principal at Peach County High School, used the clip as an inspirational teaching tool, he said.
Ezelle said they knew he was "going somewhere" because he "seemed to have it all put together."
Members of the Windsor Academy community are keeping Johnson's family in their thoughts and prayers, she said.
"Senseless violence like that is one thing when you see it on TV, but when it hits close to you, it's a whole different thing," she said.
"A KIND-HEARTED PERSON"
Windsor secretary Melissa Giles is one of two current employees who was working when Johnson was in school.
"He was a great athlete and very handsome," said Giles, who posted on Facebook a senior picture of a mullet-headed Johnson in a tuxedo.
One of the school's former students broke the news to Giles after the victims were identified.
"With us being a small school, when you have a superstar athlete, everybody idolizes him," Giles said. "He was that good of an athlete."
He was an All-Region and All-State athlete in football and baseball, Smith said.
Brannen Smith, who now teaches in Crawford County, said he recruited Johnson to play semi-pro ball for the Warner Robins Jets as the only high schooler on the team.
"He was just a gentleman, not arrogant in any way, just humble," Brannen Smith said. "Just a kind-hearted person."
Johnson had an offer to play football at the University of Georgia, but instead he chose baseball at Middle Georgia College, Ken Smith said.
He also played ball at Augusta State University, his ex-wife told The New York Times.
Johnson was such an animal lover that the couple had a menagerie of pets, including iguanas and finches, Tina Johnson told the newspaper.
"He was a really good man with a really big heart," she said. I'm still kind of reeling."
After the break-up of his first marriage, Johnson was a long-haul truck driver for years.
During his travels, the so-called "gypsy" fell in love with the beauty of San Bernardino and settled there.
Johnson lived in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles near his girlfriend, Mandy Pifer, said Smith's father, Kenneth Smith Sr.
The Smiths said the couple planned to get engaged and wanted to surprise everyone this Christmas.
"He was one of the best kids I've ever known in my life," the elder Smith said. "He loved that area."
Johnson was a regular at the Smith house during his high school days, said Ken's mother, Sonya Smith.
"That was a close-knit bunch. Shannon was a really neat person -- someone you needed to know," she said.
The shocking news kept her from sleeping well Thursday night.
"That just makes you know that the world is so small," Sonya Smith said. "It's unreal. You just don't know from day to day."
Johnson was a health inspector for San Bernardino County since 2005, overseeing food safety, recreational health, and housing, according to his LinkedIn page.
He attended Cal State in San Bernardino and had two degrees in environmental science and planned to pursue his doctorate, said Ken Smith, who plans to travel to California for a memorial service.
"My wife cried all night," he said. "We hung tight -- a real close family."
Rob Johnson, who is 22 months older than Shannon, said he always felt protected when he was with his younger brother.
"When in the same backfield with him, you feel like you'll never lose," Johnson said.
The brothers were bonded by grief, having lost their father to an industrial accident when they were 10 and 8.
Bobby Johnson Sr. also gave his life trying to save another.
He was the only person willing to try to rescue an inspector who had gotten overcome by fumes down a big tank at the Western Kraft paper mill in Hawesville, Kentucky, his oldest son said.
Both men died.
Johnson plans to bring his brother's ashes home to Jesup for burial next to their dad.
"We always knew he was not a duck-and-cover kind of guy," Rob Johnson said.
"I believe he's in heaven with his dad," Beth Johnson said.
In the meantime, the Johnsons are praying for the victims, their loved ones and the family of the shooters.
"I can't imagine what it would be like if that was my brother," Johnson said. "We pray for all those affected."
Telegraph writer Oby Brown contributed to this report. To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter @liz_lines.
This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Macon Windsor Academy graduate died heroic death in San Bernardino attack ."