22-year-old who survived two mass shootings prepares to deploy to Afghanistan

A 22-year-old Marine who survived two mass shootings is preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.

Brendan Kelly, who survived both the October 2017 shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the November 2018 shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, begins his first tour of duty in two weeks, The New York Times reports. His deployment was already scheduled before last month's shooting, during which two of his friends were killed.

"This is what I can do,” he told The Times. “This is what my role is supposed to be, as an able bodied and willing young man.” Kelly also said he is passionate about fighting for American principles such as the right to bear arms. During both shootings, Kelly, who first signed up for the Marines in 2015, threw people near him to the ground for safety and helped them make it to the exit, CNN reports.

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Kelly's parents told the Times they're worried about him leaving so soon after the November shooting, with his father saying, "He hasn't slowed down enough at all and he’s leaving in a matter of days. I am concerned that he’s going to get over there and that’s when it’s all going to come down on him." But Kelly told the Times that “God has big plans for me, and I know that."

Kelly expects to serve in Afghanistan for between six and eight months and says he wants to train to become a firefighter when he gets home. Read the full profile at The New York Times.