(inspirational music)
- Hey guys, welcome to my crib.
I'm just gonna take it.
- [Boy] Hey, you're not allowed to record students.
- How do I work that? (upbeat piano music)
- Kendrick was hilarious.
He was one of the funniest kids I ever knew.
Any room he walked into,
he was always the light of the room.
- I would say he is like a huggable teddy bear.
He just always had a larger than life
but very humble personality at the same time.
- He always saw the good in people.
There was never a moment when he couldn't pick out
the best characteristics of somebody.
- [Peyton] And he was one of the most giving,
charitable people that I knew.
He was always willing to give the shirt off
of his back and more.
- Selflessness is the number one way that I describe him.
That is Kendrick.
We instilled that in him, and he ran with it.
He took it to the next level.
And he wasn't shy about telling about his faith.
- His Catholic faith was very prominent
in the way that he lived.
He did it all to honor God.
- Even out in public, he'd say grace,
and that's just powerful, seeing that.
It impressed me for sure.
- Kendrick's desire to become a Knight was fostered
by his dad, John.
He saw what John was able to do in helping the community.
Between him and John,
they've accumulated 2,600 hours
of community service to the Knights of Columbus.
It's amazing.
(somber music)
- He was waiting to graduate high school.
His plans were to join the Knights, help them out,
and then start his electrical engineering degree.
The Knights taught him a lot of things,
a lot of charitable things.
They also taught him to be a defender of the weak
and people who needed help in any way, shape, or form.
- It started off as a regular English class.
It wasn't until I first saw Kendrick go towards him
that I realized that there was something going on.
- [Dispatcher] I'm showing that it's getting information
on a shooting.
Yes, we have a shooter in room 107.
- [Man] Attention please, lockdown.
- It was really quick.
The gun was pulled out.
Kendrick's response was instant.
- He immediately jumped the shooter
and got the gun pointed away from everyone else.
I think in the action that he jumped
because he was going towards him.
That's when the shots were fired.
- Just a couple weeks prior,
Kendrick had attended a gun safety course
on how to disarm gunmen.
He used the same defensive tactics
that was taught to police officers.
- Kendrick's life on this Earth was focused
on being kind, generous,
and concerned for his friends and his family.
It is no surprise that Kendrick sacrificed his life
to save others.
- It doesn't surprise me at all.
It didn't then, and it doesn't now.
You know, it's just the kind of person he was.
He was friends with pretty much everybody in that room.
And so he knew that he had to do something.
- Kendrick sacrificed his life.
He became a shield for others.
- [Man] If Kendrick hadn't done what he'd done,
I wouldn't be here right now.
- [Man] Kendrick lived a verse from the Gospel of St. John.
"No greater love there is than to lay down one's life
for a friend."
Kendrick lived that.
He imitated that.
- Kendrick taught us ultimately that love conquers evil.
I think it was his faith that caused him
to charge the gunman and to offer himself for others.
If Kendrick's death can cause a ripple effect
through our community, even through the Knights,
about this young man who wanted to be a Knight,
then, in fact, we'll keep his spirit alive.
And good can come from this tragedy.
(audience applauds)
- In the days that followed, the world would learn
that Kendrick was a faithful Catholic with a heart of gold.
Kendrick wanted to join the Knights of Columbus.
And so today, we will do something unprecedented.
I now ask the delegates here assembled to please stand.
And now I ask shall we grant Kendrick Castillo
full membership in the Knights of Columbus?
(audience applauds and cheers)
- As people go through life,
just remember, be like Kendrick.
Be selfless.
He was the angel and the saint in my life
that taught me how to live. (uplifting music)
He attacked the terrorism much like he attacked life,
full-bore and with love.
He knew there was evil, and he knew that he had to just leap
and make something happen to protect others.
I want people to understand and realize
that it wasn't that one act that he did that day,
but it's how he lived and celebrated his life.
He was my hero his entire life.